Henri Anier has admitted Dundee United must “improve a lot” if they are to have a chance of beating Celtic.
The Tangerines were dire at Tannadice on Saturday as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Premiership strugglers Partick Thistle.
However, frontman Anier believes they can up their game when they face the Hoops in Sunday’s home Scottish Cup quarter-final the first part of a triple-header against the Parkhead men that also includes the League Cup final and a league trip to Celtic Park.
The Estonian international, who came on as a second-half substitute against the Jags and missed two decent chances, said: “We weren’t at our best but we were confident coming into the game.
“We wanted to have some high energy but it was another disappointing match.
“Nobody is happy but that game has gone now.
“Everyone should focus on the next set of massive matches against Celtic.
“I think we have to improve a lot but, as you saw in the game against Inverness last midweek, we showed the character that’s inside us.
“We know ourselves that we are capable of doing that and we will definitely go into the Celtic game on Sunday with confidence. We will give it our best shot and will go for a win.
“These are three massive games to look forward to and I think everyone is up for the challenge.
“Celtic are definitely favourites but maybe that is a good thing for us.
“We will go into these games as underdogs but we don’t have any fear going into them.
“We must be positive and the fans must be positive.
“We are definitely good enough to beat Celtic.”