Declan Gallagher concedes that Dundee United’s preparation for Wednesday’s showdown with Celtic will be ice baths and hydration rather than graft on the grass.
The Tangerines turned in a weary display against Hearts on Sunday, succumbing to a 1-0 defeat in their fifth match in 14 days.
And the fixtures keep coming thick and fast, with a trip to Glasgow before another testing away day at St Mirren on Saturday.
Louis Moult and Craig Sibbald are ongoing absentees, while David Babunski has missed United’s last two games through illness. Several other are running on empty, with a host of knocks and niggles affecting the Tannadice squad.
“We just need to take Sunday’s game on the chin and accept what happened,” said the Scotland international. “We looked very tired and, with the size of the squad we have, we’ve not got many changes that we can make.
“Some of the boys have been playing while ill. It’s been a hard, festive period and we’ve done really well – but I think it’s taken its toll.”
‘Frustrate the life out of them’
However, Gallagher is unwilling to wave the white flag before a ball is kicked against Celtic, with whom he emerged through the youth ranks as a fresh-faced teenager.
And he draws confidence from the gutsy 0-0 draw United achieved against the Hoops in December at Tannadice.
“The boys need to get in their ice baths, recover and hydrate well – because we know it’s going to be a big ask on Wednesday,” he continued.
“I’ve been on the end of a few gubbings at Celtic Park, but I’ve had a 2-2 draw (with St Mirren) and a 0-0 draw (with Livingston). So, it’s not impossible to go there and get a good result.
“We know how good Celtic are and the abundance of talent they have. But we’ll take confidence from the 0-0 draw here (at Tannadice).
“And if we can keep our defensive record going, then frustrate the life out of them, hopefully we can nick something.”
Gallagher: United need to ‘kick on’
The saving grace from United’s defeat against Hearts – just a second reverse in their last 11 outings – was that Aberdeen also lost at Motherwell, allowing the Tangerines to remain in third spot.
However, Gallagher has emphasised the need to maintain lofty standards.
“We don’t want to rest on the fact we’ve got third place,” added Gallagher. “We know there are teams right there. Motherwell are creeping back up and fortunes will have to change for Aberdeen at some stage, too.
“We can’t just rely on the points we’ve got now. We need to kick on and get better and better.”
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