DESPITE an inconsistent start to the campaign so far, Jack Ross’ Hibs side go into tomorrow's (Sunday) game following a comprehensive 3-0 home win over Aberdeen last weekend. Ryan Christie is a fan of the ex-St Mirren and Sunderland boss' style, and is anticipating his side will play with similar confidence at Celtic Park.

“We expect a good game, and Hibs will come here with an intent,” said Christie. “I’m a big fan of Jack Ross. He did an incredible job when he was at St Mirren, and I thought he was unlucky with things not really working out at Sunderland. With Hibs now bouncing back, you always expect that to be a tough game, whether you’re playing home or away. I’m sure Sunday will be a tough fixture.

“On the one hand, you want to play as many games as you can each season, but sometimes you need to take a step back. If there’s the opportunity to have a rest, you have to take it – especially with the massive month we have in December.

“We need a big push from everyone. We’re happy with how the Europa League group turned out. We’ve done very well, and we managed to afford ourselves the luxury of playing a final game which isn’t as important as some of the earlier ones. That said, the boys over there were playing for their place in the team, especially with so many games coming up.”

With 16 goals and 11 assists to his name this season so far, Christie has already eclipsed his impressive record from last year (11 goals, nine assists). And while keeping his personal targets to himself, he said he thrives on the pressure to contribute in the final third at a club of Celtic’s stature.

He added: “I’ve not hit my target yet. My personal targets were more between the start of the season and the break. We’ll see what we can do in January. The gaffer has been brilliant with me, and the football we’ve been playing – that fast-flowing, attacking football – suits my position. For players like me, it’s a joy to play in. I’ve been lucky enough to have scored a few goals on the end of that, so I’m happy.

“I’m sure if you asked other attacking players, they’d tell you that they enjoy the pressure of scoring goals for their team. I know I enjoy that pressure of needing to score or create goals in the final third. When I went out on loan to Aberdeen, I started getting that feeling of pressure to do things on the ball. That helped me get used to it, and then when I came back to Celtic, I started really enjoying that feeling.

“It doesn’t all fall on my shoulders. It falls on all of the attacking boys here, but when you’re playing with this group of players, all playing with confidence, it’s nice to be part of.”

Christie: We expect confident Hibs to play with attacking intent