Here were are again - on the verge of going back to the national stadium. It's fair to say our last visit there in the League Cup three years ago did not end particularly well. Lee Mair and David Barron are the only survivors of that horrible day that is best forgotten about, but for the class of 2013 this is a chance to put things right. OK, it's not the final but it is a game at the national stadium against one of the Old Firm and victory on Sunday would certainly help put a lot of ghosts to rest in my head. And if we lose, let's hope this time it's not to nine men.
Our last trip to Hampden pretty much coincides with the last time we managed to sore against Celtic - the famous 4-0 win coming just a few days after that Rangers disaster. I have yet to see Saints score at Hampden, despite having watched them there three times. To show how ridiculous this is I've seen Queen of the South score six goals in just two visits! Ian Ferguson's winner in the 1987 Scottish Cup final remains our last goal on the Hampden turf and that, combined with our 22-0 record against Celtic in recent years, does not bode well.
But all these runs have to come to an end some time, so why not tomorrow? Celtic have been shaky domestically this season without the pressure of battling Rangers for the title and have suffered a few rather strange defeats. They have performed extremely well in Europe but if we go at them sensibly - rather then pack everyone behind the ball or just attack them mindlessly - there is no reason we can't pull off an upset. This week has provided plenty of inspiration with the wins for Swansea and Bradford down south so there's no reason we can't follow in their footsteps. Every single Buddie must give their all, leave everything on the pitch and come in at the end having no regrets. If that is indeed the case then we may well come out of this with a victory - or at least a goal!
Aside from a brief spell last week we were awful against Ross County. Do that again tomorrow and we will be destroyed and half our fans will probably be on their way home by half time! We need to tighten things up at the back and it wouldn't be a surprise to see David van Zanten take over from David Barron. The latter did well against Kilmarnock and wasn't doing badly last week until some poor errors so will probably be benched, especially as he and Carey are supposedly struggling with injury. We could also do with Jim Goodwin back in midfield with Lee Mair returning to defence.
The more important change we need to make in midfield is to have some more width. Last week we attacked down the right pretty much every time through Gary Teale, with no one really on the left as Conor Newton and Jon Robertson struggled while out of position. If Kenny McLean isn't fit then we should bring John McGinn back as he has done a fine job there and would also give us a bit of a goal threat. The in-form Steven Thompson will probably live out one of his childhood dreams by playing for Saints at Hampden but who starts alongside him? Until Tuesday night it would almost certainly have been one of Sam Parkin or Lewis Guy, but then Esmael Goncalves arrived on loan from Rio Ave. Will he start? I wouldn't bet against it - this time last year Dougie Imrie was handed a start against Celtic just a few days after joining from Hamilton.
Celtic are still chasing a quadruple as they have a Champions League clash with Juventus coming up next month. Although winning the European Cup may be a bit outlandish, there's no reason they can't beat the Italian champions after their efforts against Barcelona last year. For the moment though their focus is on domestic matters. They are comfortably top of the SPL, despite dropping points in rather silly circumstances, and will see this as merely another hurdle to be cleared on the way to completing a domestic treble. Like ourselves they have their own League Cup heartbreak they are trying to put behind them after losing to Kilmarnock in last year's final. Neil Lennon is probably delighted Willie Collum - who officiated that final - is in charge tomorrow.
Our hopes have been boosted somewhat by the fact Celtic will be without Efe Ambrose, who is off representing Nigeria in the Africa Cup of Nations. Kelvin Wilson looked as if he'd also be missing but he served his ban by sitting out the midweek win over Dundee United and is available again. Fraser Forster has been struggling with an injury this week but will probably be back, which is bad news for us. The goalie has been excellent this season and you have to wonder why Newcastle decided to let him go. I'm still not convinced about Charlie Mulgrew as a centre half but he seems to do a decent job, leaving Emilio Izaguierre to get on with bombing up and down the left flank.
Despite speculation, Celtic still have Gary Hooper. This is a pity as I had hoped they would flog him in the transfer window, but that looks unlikely to happen by tomorrow as they've already told Norwich where to go twice.. He's scored 21 goals this season, which is a fantastic return, and is being heavily linked with a move back down south. Georgios Samaras has looked lively on the odd occasion and seems to save himself for big games, so no doubt he'll turn up tomorrow. If he doesn't, Neil Lennon can always turn to young Tony Watt, who has so far been pretty handy and dispelled my theory that he is merely the next Mark Burchill. Lassad and Miku are other options, while Anthony Stokes is almost back to full fitness.
Someone else who is still available for Celtic is Victor Wanyama. Sadly for us he hasn't been sold and Kenya didn't make the Cup of Nations, so he'll be looking to add to the three goals he's already got against us this season. That isn't the main part of his role though and he has been doing an excellent job of holding the midfield together this season. The winter break should mean skipper Scott Brown has recharged his batteries is fit enough to play, even though he requires an operation, while James Forrest is back to fitness. Kris Commons is another player to have been superb this season, contributing nine goals from the wings, with Joe Ledley also scoring a few when required.
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