CELTIC have played four league games at home this season, winning all four and scoring 14 goals for the loss of just three. The aim for Neil Lennon’s side this Saturday is to make it five league wins at Paradise, also extending their overall winning run to nine in a row, and to do that, they will have to come out on top in the first Glasgow derby of the campaign.

The lunchtime kick-off will see the game played behind closed doors, and while the Celtic manager admits that this is far from ideal, he also knows that, come the first whistle, both sets of players will be as motivated and competitive as ever.

Speaking ahead of the game, the Irishman said: “We have prepared as best we can. All our preparations are done now, so we’re ready for any situation that crops up. We’re in brilliant form – we’ve won our last eight games. We’re scoring a lot of goals, so we’re very much looking forward to the game.

“It’ll be interesting without the energy of the fans and interesting to see the intensity and the tempo of the game. Both teams are capable of producing some very good football. We’re at home and it’s important that we consolidate our home form.

“I think it will be physical, I think it will be fast, just like any other derby, but I think it’s sprinkled with a lot of quality players.

“We’re now about 10, 12 games into this sort of scenario with no supporters. It’s not what we want, it’s not ideal but it’s what we have to accept, so we are where we are. I still believe we should be getting supporters back into the stadium sooner rather than later, but we have to accept what the authorities say, and play the game as strong as we can without the support.

“Neither game in the league had a major effect on how the season went. This is the first one, and all it does is give the winners a psychological boost for however length of that time will be.

“The players are all ready to play. they’ve all had game-time, some more than others, but they’re ready to go and self-motivation speaks for itself when you come into a game of this magnitude. So it’s just a case of keeping your emotions in check and make sure you play the game and not the occasion.”

Manager: Our aim is to keep the winning run going