Mark Durnan didn’t have time to become pals with Nadir Ciftci but he is expecting to get to know him well this weekend.
The Dundee United defender is likely to face up to the Turk tomorrow – the first time Ciftci will have played against his old United teammates since moving to Celtic in the summer.
Ciftci’s switch to the Hoops came just a couple of weeks after Durnan’s arrival at Tannadice so their paths barely crossed.
However, Durnan knows just what a terrific player he was for the Tangerines and the threat he poses to Mixu Paatelainen’s men in this Premiership clash.
The central defender said: “Nadir was there for the first two weeks of pre-season training but it was hard to really get to know him because we weren’t clubmates for very long.
“However, I do know Nadir had been a top quality player for United before going to Celtic.
“He was doing stuff out of nowhere and it was obviously a loss for the club when he left.
“When you are doing well at one club then a team like Celtic comes in for you. That’s what happens in football.
“Nevertheless, it would have been nice to have played alongside him because you want to play with the best players.
“It’s sad to see these players leave United but when they do go it’s an opportunity for someone else to come in.
“So we lost Nadir but got someone like Billy Mckay, who has been very good since he arrived and is sharp in training.”
Tomorrow’s game won’t be short on quality in an attacking sense, with Celtic having the option of playing Ciftci, Leigh Griffiths and/or new signing Carlton Cole, while Mckay is a threat to any defence if given decent supply.
Durnan said: “They are all quality strikers.
“I played against Griffiths in the previous game at Tannadice and when he was at Hibs as well when I was at Queen of the South.
“I know what he and Nadir can do but I’m going to go into the game as confident as possible.
“When you play against the Old Firm, you sort of relish it.
“This will be my first game at Parkhead and it will be good to say I have done that come Sunday night.
“It is a difficult place to go to for any team in Scotland and there will be a good atmosphere but I have played at the likes of Ibrox and Tynecastle before which should stand me in good stead.
“Hopefully, we can go there and cause an upset.
“We just have to go into every game hoping to get something out of the match.
“We’ve got to be solid and not give them too many chances and hopefully we can take a chance at the other end.”
United manager Paatelainen placed the emphasis on defence for the game against Hearts last weekend and the team did tighten up apart from when conceding the penalty that led to the Jam Tarts’ winner.
Keeping the back door closed will be the priority again tomorrow, as Durnan confirmed.
“Yeah, the focus has been on that because we have been losing too many soft goals,” he said.
“So the manager has come in and organised us a lot.
“He is putting his stamp on the team.
“We are getting taught new things each day on the training ground.
“He wants us to play his way. We are adapting to that and learning every day.
“So it is all about taking small steps.
“We were well drilled last week so we went into the Hearts game knowing our jobs.
“I thought we defended pretty well and limited them to just a few chances.
“Their goal came from a penalty and we could have defended that better.
“However, I think we have given ourselves a solid base and the challenge is now how can we go forward and cause other teams problems.”