Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven can expect some stick when they return to Tannadice but it should be “good-natured.”
That is the view of Dundee United coach Darren Jackson, who along with the rest of the management team and players will warmly welcome the now Celtic pair back to the club when they arrive on Sunday.
Such is the nature of the game, Armstrong and Mackay-Steven can expect some heckling from the home fans who, before the final day of the January transfer window, had been cheering them on.
Jackson accepts that as part and parcel of football but he doesn’t want it go any further than that.
“Gary and Stuart will be back at Tannadice for the first time and I’m sure the fans will give them a bit of banter,” he said.
“However, I would hope it would be good-natured.
“They were fantastic players for United but they got a chance they couldn’t turn down.
“Going and playing for Celtic against Inter Milan a few weeks later is probably the game that showed that.
“It was a blow to lose them but you can’t turn the clock back.
“The fans will give them a wee bit (of stick) but they shouldn’t forget what they did for United.
“They were great players when they were here.
“But they are gone now and we believe that, in our squad, we have a group of first-team players capable of making a real impact in this league.
“This game won’t be about them (Armstrong and Mackay-Steven) versus us, it will be about getting the three points we want to keep in order to aim for third place.
“When players come back to a former club there is always focus on that but we are only looking at trying to win the game.”