Elliott:No Jackthe ladwhen Deevisit

ELLIOTT PARISH wasn’t surprised to see Jack Hendry land his dream move to Celtic after just half a season at Dundee.

But the Dark Blues keeper insists his side can serve up a nightmare for the 22-year-old at his new home.

Hendry will be reunited with his former team-mates at Parkhead tonight for the first time since last month’s £1.5million switch.

And Parish, who arrived at Dens a fortnight after Hendry, said: “Hopefully we can haunt him a little bit.

“He did really well in the first half of the season but he is not a Dundee player any more.

“He is a fantastic player – everyone knows that. My first impression of him was he just oozed confidence. If you are going to go to the top level that’s important.

“As the season went on, everyone could see his improvement and there is still so much more to come from him. I wasn’t surprised his move came quickly as he was getting better and better with every game.

“It is crazy but a week in football is a long time let alone half a season. Things can change so quickly.

“It is testament to him for working so hard and getting the move with the coaching he had here. He still has a lot to learn but he’s a top player.

“Hopefully it won’t be a busy evening for me if we defend well. We can get the win. You see sides going there getting a good shape with men behind the ball, which is important otherwise you are going to get broken down quickly. We definitely have to be solid.

“Concentration for the full 90 minutes is also massive. Other sides have got good results there so we just have to go and do the same hopefully. I was on the bench for the 1-0 game there earlier in the season and we played very well with and without the ball.”

Boss Neil McCann has told Dundee to be ruthless when they do have it.

He said: “Celtic Park is another place we’ve created gilt-edged chances and paid the price for not taking them.

“We can take heart from going there earlier in the season and playing so well. We went toe to toe with Celtic, were really brave and should’ve had a penalty.” SCOTT BROWN might not feel the cold but the skipper standing down from Scotland duty has sent a chill down Tartan Army spines.

And James Forrest reckons there is another ice-cool Celtic star who can handle the heat of leading the national side.

A couple of pictures last week summed up Brown’s refusal to freeze either on the big stage or sub-zero streets.

The Celtic captain was laughing off hefty hits while leading his side to victory in Aberdeen on Sunday just days after another snap of him strolling around St Petersburg in minus-11 temperatures wearing just a T-shirt went viral.

Forrest reckons both snapshots were typical of the man although there’s another Hoops player immune to the weather plus a hot tip to skipper Scotland.

Kieran Tierney is just like his idol – he too doesn’t carry a coat but does have a full medal jacket.

Forrest watched Brown brave the bitter cold in Russia then shrug off heated exchanges at Pittodrie and said: “That’s Broony. I don’t think he owns a jacket!

“Those two things last week just sum him up and I don’t think he’ll ever change.

“That’s just Broony – I don’t think anyone else would do that. He’s a great character and one of those guys who it is just great to have in your team.

“If you could sum up Broony that would be the clip. He’s off his head.”

He’s also hard to replace but Forrest knows who new boss Alex McLeish could have up his sleeve. Tierney was handed the armband by stand-in manager Malky Mackay for November’s 1-0 friendly defeat to Holland.

And Forrest said: “KT was excellent in the Netherlands game – he was only 20 at the time and Scotland captain.

“It would be a great shout for him to be captain. He doesn’t feel the cold either! Whatever Broony does he seems to do. “I can understand Broony’s decision but everyone at Scotland will be gutted because we know what he can still do. It will be a big loss on and off the park.

“Once he was gone the first time maybe that’s when you realised what he does do both on and off the pitch.

“He’s a huge influence for everyone. He’s a leader, has been tremendous and everyone will be gutted he has retired.

“It’s his own decision though and I’m sure it will be the right one for him. In 2016 when he retired and came back,

JAMES FORREST

maybe he thought this was the time for him now. A lot of folk will think he could still play on but he knows his body and it’s his decision.”

The flip side of Brown’s retirement for his country is the bonus for his club

The midfielder – who turns 33 in June – will be able to concentrate fully on the champions and Forrest is convinced he will be the main man for a good while yet.

He said: “The Celtic boys will say it is a positive for us. He has been tremendous this season and if he gets a bit of rest during the international break then it’s only going to make him hungrier for the Celtic games. And hopefully we’ll benefit from that.

“He has been phenomenal for the past couple of years and that’s why he decided to come back in the first place because of how good he was feeling.

“You see in Celtic games he runs the most, he plays every game and he’s so fit.

“He’s almost 33 though so not being involved in internationals is only going to prolong his Celtic career.

“You see him in the Champions League games and he’s still looking the best player every game we play in Europe