KRIS COMMONS

LOOKING back to the opening day of last season, Celtic thumped St Johnstone 7-0 in what was a sign of things to come. Ryan Christie was the star of the show that day with a hat-trick which really ignited his own campaign on a personal level. With the greatest respect to Hamilton and their manager Brian Rice, Celtic will be looking to do something similar tomorrow afternoon. Accies could well be rabbits in the headlights because I don’t see the champions being in the mood to settle for a scrappy 2-1 victory or anything like that. They will want to put their foot on the gas right from the first whistle and leave the rest of the Premiership choking on their exhaust fumes. It’s about sending out a statement and flexing their muscles. Christie will again be a key part of that in what looks to be an embarrassment of riches in the final third. It speaks volumes for just how good he was last season that there were times when he was actually keeping Tom Rogic out of the team. The Australian is known as the Magic Man among the Celtic supporters but it’s Christie who proved himself to be a wizard by casting a spell over defenders across the country. Celtic just have so much firepower in the forward areas and they’re going to be a in a goal-hungry mood tomorrow against Hamilton as they start their quest for that historic ten in a row. That emphatic victory over St Johnstone on the opening day last season set them on their way to a free-scoring season under Neil Lennon. His team netted 89 times in 30 games last time out, which was a full 25 more goals than their Old Firm rivals Rangers. That’s the key difference between the two sides at the moment. Yes, we know that Rangers can compete with Celtic in a one-off match and, on their day, beat them. But the depth of talent that Lennon’s side have available to them is frightening. They can hurt teams from all angles and score goals from all over the pitch. The likes of Christie and Odsonne Edouard will be out to serve up a feast and start with a bang as they chase the Holy Grail.