Rice insists Hamilton don’t expect weak side
BRIAN RICE insists there is never a good time for Hamilton to take on the Old Firm powerhouses.
The manager will take his basement boys to Celtic Park tonight to face a side under massive scrutiny following the collapse of their 10-in-a-row bid.
A defeat to the Premiership paupers would heap more pressure on Neil Lennon.
But Rice does not buy into the theory that his team’s chances are inflated just because Celtic trail runaway leaders Rangers by 23 points.
And while his budget remains a tiny fraction of that available to the Glasgow giants, he insists Hamilton will always be ranked huge underdogs when coming up against the big two.
He said: “I’ve just been looking at the Celtic stats. They’ve lost two games this season in the league, both to Rangers.
“So nothing changes when you play the Old Firm. It’s so, so difficult for us all and that’s not going to be any different tomorrow night.
“We’re going to Parkhead and
what makes people think this is any easier than it’s ever been?
“Celtic had 13 players out two weeks ago – now they’ve got 13 back in. If I took 13 players out my squad I wouldn’t have enough bodies to play the game.
“They are a completely different animal. Anything can happen, as we proved at Ibrox last season. We have to go to Celtic Park with confidence and spirit and a gameplan. We’ve got to believe.
“But let’s be realistic here. How many times has Hamilton gone to big venues like Celtic Park and Ibrox over the years and got a result?”