Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HIBEES IS A SPECIAL PLACE FOR FOOTBALL
BRENDAN RODGERS admitted he got swept up by Sunshine of Leith and has been counting down the days to his return to Easter Road.
The Celtic boss was high in the stands when Hibs dumped Hearts out of the Scottish Cup on their own patch last season and he was blown away by the scenes at the end.
Rodgers has been itching to sample the unique atmosphere from the dugout but he’s hoping to leave the Hibs ends silent tomorrow.
He said: “I went to Easter Road for the first time last season for the Edinburgh derby against Hearts in the Scottish Cup. The atmosphere was brilliant. It’s a lovely stadium and I really enjoyed it. I loved the song they sing at the end, Sunshine on Leith. It was absolutely amazing, brilliant.
“I also saw it at Hampden when half the stadium was singing it and it was just great. They sang it after the Hearts game and it’s a really emotional song.
“From that night I have been looking forward to taking my team to Easter Road and I am looking forward to Sunday.
“There’s no doubt Hibernian are one of Scotland’s great clubs. I only know Neil but clearly behind the scenes they do a very good job at Hibs.”
Hibs came closer than most to ending Celtic’s unbeaten run in the 2-2 draw at Parkhead back in September and the Hoops boss is expecting another examination.
He said: “I felt we were a bit jaded after the Champions League but they have a first-class manager and good players and they played with good energy.
“It was a tough game but we showed our resilience to come back. I thought we were the better team in the first half of the semi-final then a decision went against us for 2-1 and Hibs got energy.
“But we got through. But there’s no denying we’ve had two tough games against them.”
Celtic defender Dedryck Boyata, who has been down with flu, and winger Scott Sinclair face fitness tests.