HOOPS UP THE HEAT ON PACK

JAMES FORREST and Leigh Griffiths increased the pressure on the chasing pack as Celtic beat Dundee.

Forrest opened the scoring at Dens Park after eight minutes before Griffiths (above) sealed the points before the break.

But boss Brendan Rodgers was left sweating on Jonny Hayes after seeing the Hoops winger carried off following a brutal clash with Josh Meekings in the first half, with the Dundee defender also having to be replaced.

Rodgers said: “I was looking directly at his fibula to see what state his leg was in but it must have just been the clash of shin-pads. But he was down so it was clearly hurting him.

“The medical team tell me he will go for an X-ray and we will see where it is at, but we are hoping it is only bruising.”

Dundee manager Neil McCann admitted his side lacked aggression but stressed that Meekings’ clash with Hayes was just two “committed players” coming together.

“That is a 50-50,” he said. “Jonny was coming quick and was fully committed.”

Ryan Bowman is confident he can brush off the inevitable hostility at Ibrox today and help Motherwell to another victory over Rangers.

Bowman inadvertently broke the nose of Rangers defender Fabio Cardoso with his elbow during Motherwell’s Betfred Cup semi-final win over Rangers in October.

Bowman said: “I am obviously going to get a bit of stick, but you can’t mope about it, you can’t think about it, or it will put you off your game.

“Once you’re out on that pitch, the adrenaline is rushing through your body so you don’t really take notice of the crowd.”