DERBY DAY SPECIAL
Christie: I’ve already dumped Gers and celebrated in the corner with fans... my picture is still up on wall at Pittodrie
RYAN CHRISTIE has created one iconic Ibrox image. Now he pictures doing it again.
The Celtic ace has fond memories of heading a winner at the home of Rangers 19 months ago during his loan spell at Aberdeen.
Christie’s moment ended a 26-year hoodoo for the Dons in Govan and was also enough to earn a special spot on a wall inside Pittodrie.
Having sprinted to the tiny section of Reds fans shoehorned into the Govan West corner of the stadium following his neat finish in the 2-1 success of May 2017, pictures of him celebrating were pinned up in the stadium by Aberdeen staff.
Now the tiny band of 800 Celtic fans will be housed in that same area of Ibrox and Christie would love to be snapped in joyous scenes again.
He said: “It was Aberdeen’s first win there for a while. So I have good memories of going to Ibrox.
“I scored that day with a header and there were a few really good photos from the celebrations in that corner up that end.
“I saw them up at the club and they actually ended up going up on one of the walls in Pittodrie.
“That night was pretty special and it would be nice to get another photo celebrating in that wee corner.
“These are the games where you want to make an impact. They are the ones that count for so many supporters around the world.
“If you can turn up and have a good game in this occasion, it puts you in a special place with all the fans.
“I played there once with Inverness and it was a Wednesday night as well, so there might have been less than three figures of our fans!
“A lot has been said about how it is going to be a smaller support but I am sure our fans will still make a right good noise.
“We know there will be so many Celtic fans watching at home and all across the world. We know how much it means to everybody. We feel that too, so we’re desperate to win.”
Getting a result at Ibrox is not something that has caused much of a problem for Celtic since Brendan Rodgers took charge.
The champions have won on each of their four visits during the Northern Irishman’s reign and their overall unbeaten record against Rangers now stands at 12 games.
Extending the sequence would be huge for the Parkhead troops but Christie says the past doesn’t interest the squad right now.
It’s all about setting new landmarks, making new statements and hitting fresh heights.
Christie said: “We don’t really think of previous results there. It’s silly to do that as when you come into every game, it’s fresh and completely new.
“We’re just looking to take our recent form of this month into the game, bring the football we’ve been playing over the past couple of weeks and hopefully get a result.
“I don’t approach it too different to any other match. At Celtic there is always that desire to win every game.
“The run of games I’ve managed to get over the last couple of months stands me in good stead for the game and I feel part of the team now.
“For all the boys, a lot has been said about this game. It’s so important to go there and hopefully get a result.”
Christie tasted success in the opening Old Firm fixture of the campaign when he came off the bench and will be involved again having returned to the starting line-up to produce a polished show in the Boxing Day victory over Aberdeen.
Celtic’s brilliant late success in the Granite City proved their minds and limbs are still pumping strong at this late stage of a gruelling spell and he says his team can cope with the demands of Ibrox.
Christie said: “Over the last couple of years, we have had so many games so we are used to it.
“So many other teams in the league have played three in a week this month and have all complained but it’s what we’ve been doing for the last two years.
“Eddy (Odsonne Edouard) comes off the bench at Aberdeen and scores a great goal and sets up a third for Sincy (Scott Sinclair]. It’s a credit to how well we are doing and I’m looking forward to it as I’m sure the boys are. “I’ll play anywhere, especially in a game like this.
“If we can get a win then it would round off this period of the season and put us into such a good place coming back from the break.
“Our aim at the start of December and the start of this busy period was just to stay top of the table and build a points gap between us and the rest.”