Declan Gallagher insists Dundee United are “not frightened” of Celtic as the Terrors attempt to skewer a 32 YEAR winless run at Parkhead.
United have not tasted victory in Glasgow’s east end since Duncan Ferguson notched the only goal of a 1-0 triumph on Boxing Day, 1992.
And it would take a brave punter to predict that Jim Goodwin’s charges will break that sequence on Saturday, given the Hoops have won 11 of their 12 league games on home soil and scored 40 goals in the process.
That includes a 2-0 win over the Tangerines on January 8, during which the visitors produced a heartening – if ultimately toothless – second half showing.
And Gallagher, who celebrated his 34th birthday on Thursday, is determined to accentuate the positives as the Scotland defender refuses to write off the onerous away day.
“Everybody knows what a difficult task going to Celtic Park is,” said Gallagher.
“But we went there last month and put on an excellent second half performance. We showed that we could go toe to toe with them, at least for 45 minutes.
“So, we need to go there with confidence. We won’t go there, sit back and be frightened of Celtic. We know that we can go there and maybe match up against them and see where the game takes us.”
He added: “We’ve got eight huge games coming up and we don’t just want to rely on the points total we have. We want to kick on, keep pushing and keep those teams around us at bay.”
No panic
United approach the toughest test in Scottish football in inauspicious form.
Goodwin’s men have lost four of their last five matches in all competitions but remain in third place in the Premiership, largely due to the stumbling form of sides like Aberdeen and Motherwell.
Hibs increasingly look like the most threatening outfit in the chasing pack, with only four points separating the capital club and the Terrors.
And while emphasising that there is “no panic” at Tannadice, ex-Celtic kid Gallagher knows that the Tangerines must start putting points back on the board if they are to remain on their lofty perch.
“Some things that had been going for us this season, aren’t going for us right now,” Gallagher told Courier Sport.
“But there’s no panic in the changing room. We are happy with the points we have on the board just now and we’d rather be in our position than the other teams chasing us.
“However, we know that we need to get back to winning ways, sooner than later.”
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