The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Playing Celtic at their own game wrong, says Mccann
Dark Blues boss vows to have a real go at Brendan Rodgers’ side with semi place at stake
Dundee boss Neil Mccann insists that he will not alter his playing philosophy – even if the opposition is Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic juggernaut.
Ever since he took permanent charge at Dens, the manager has not wavered in his commitment to his team performing without fear.
Mccann admits he will set his side up in the Betfred Cup quarter-final tonight to be hard to beat but that will not be at the expense of his desire to see his players have a right good go at the Hoops with the Dark Blues buoyed following their Premiership victory over St Johnstone at the weekend.
Mccann said: “It’s been a good couple of days. I remember Gordon Strachan saying the world’s a better place when you win a game and it certainly feels that way when you wake up on Sunday morning with three points.
“It wasn’t as if it was relief, it was almost like satisfaction in that the boys got what I think they deserved.
“It’s pleasing to go into this game which is huge with a chance to get to a semi-final on the back of a very good result.
“I know the size of the task that we’ve got in hand but I don’t have any fear. I’ve got massive respect for Celtic as a team.
“I know what we face but I’ve got full belief in my team if we set up right in a way that we’re hard to break down.”
Mccann added: “But what I don’t want to do is set them up in a way that we’re hard to break down but don’t have anything going forward.
“I just think that’s wrong. We’re a team that’s trying to do the right things.
“And I’m not going to change how I want to play because we’re playing against Celtic. That would go against everything I believe in. I’m determined to move the club forward.
“That being said, we won’t go trying to play Celtic at their own game because I’m honest enough to say there would only be one winner there.
“But there are other ways to win a game of football.”
Mccann admitted that the Dundee fans can play their part tonight and he also took time to explain why his side persisted with a patient build-up against Saints.
He added: “After five minutes on Saturday, I’m hearing our own fans booing and moaning because we’re trying to play from the back and build attacks.
“That takes a bit of bravery because on the back of five games where we picked up just one point – against a team who were sitting third at the time and had gone to Celtic Park and taken a point – we’re not just going to play into their hands by banging the ball forward.
“I have a game-plan focused on how I want us to play moving forward and they didn’t buckle against St Johnstone. Bravery was shown and they showed they can play.
“There has to be a mix. They can’t play all the time, otherwise you become predictable. We’ve got to do the same thing against Celtic.
“I’m not going to criticise the Dundee fans. They’ve always been brilliant with me. Every fan – at every club I’ve been at – I hear them getting disgruntled at times.
“I can understand because all their thinking is that we’re bringing undue pressure on ourselves by playing out from the back.
“But things are not always set in stone. “We work on things during the week in order to play against the opposition. It’s not just by accident that we play out from the back.
“At the same time, if it’s not on I’m certainly not adverse to lashing it up to our big striker and playing off secondballs. We showed on Saturday they can play with a bit of bravery and fans just need to be a wee bit patient with it.
“Fans can have an enormous impact on a player, both positive and negative. I know that myself.
“If things are not going well and the fans are on your back, that’s when the big brave players continue to try and play in a style that I want them to play in.
“On a whole, the fans have been excellent since I took over and I expect them to be like that again on wednesday .”
Dark Blues winger Roarie Deacon has been passed fit for the quarter-final clash.
The wide player went off with a knock during the first half of Saturday’s victory over St Johnstone but is ready to face the holders at Dens, while Darren O’dea is available despite his weekend red card.