I love the faith that John has in us but we must back it up by proving it on the pitch
Elyounoussi warns Hoops must be bold if they are going to make their gaffer’s ‘best’ prediction come true
Mohamed Elyounoussi is backing John Kennedy’s “best in the country” claim – but admits talk is cheap if Celtic can’t back-up their bold words against Rangers.
The Hoops winger doubled down on the stand- in manager’s statement that on their day Celts are more than a ma t c h for the runaway champions.
And he hopes to put their words into action during this afternoon’s Scottish Cup fourth-round Old Firm clash. Elyounoussi also insists speculation over his own future is on hold for the rest of this campaign.
The only target in his thoughts is ensuring there’s a silver lining at the end of this term.
He said: “I love the confidence the gaffer has in us and I feel the same way. But at the same time, we need to make sure we do our talking with our feet out on the pitch.
“That is the most important thing. Every game is a big game – this is a great one to be a part of so I’m looking forward to it.
“We will prepare for the game as we would for any other. “That has always been the mentality at Celtic but this is a cup game and it’s all to play for.
“That makes it more interesting and valuable but we will go into it as we would any other. We wi l l do our best to try to win the game.”
The 26-yearold Norwegian international has notched three goals in Celtic’s last two games including a double in a 6-0 romp over Livingston.
He’s convinced the lack of a clinical edge has now been banished in time for the floodgates to remain open for the trip to Ibrox.
He said: “The team are going into this game with a high degree of confidence, especially after the last game against Livingston. We have been working hard and the training last week was superb.
“You could see a result like the one we had against Livi was coming over the last few games. You could see it during the training sessions we had and the only thing missing was taking our chances.
“We had been creating a lot of chances but we couldn’t f inish t h em of f . Th ings weren’t going our way in front of goal but we knew that would change sooner rather than later.
“It changed against Livi. Not only were we good in front of our opponents’ goal but we were good in front of our own.
“We were good in all aspects of the game.
“We were effective against Livingston and need to try to maintain that at Ibrox, create chances and be ruthless.
“We must also stop Rangers from having chances against us. It’s all about what’s going to happen in the two boxes.”
The Norwegian has been in red-hot form in recent weeks as Celtic have gone through the gears with goals galore in their last few games.
But he’s refusing to allow discussions on whether he’ll remain in Glasgow next season or return to parent club Southampton to impact on what’s left of this campaign
He said: “I haven’t thought much about what my future is going to be.
“We still have a few games left to play this season and my main focus is on Celtic.
“I want to do my best for the club then ,after the season ends, I will think about what I’m going to do and what is best for my own career. But at the moment I real ly haven’t thought about it.”
It’s now 18 months and counting since Celtic last recorded a win over Rangers.
Their League Cup Final success in 2019 is now ancient history for a player who’s using previous performances against Steven Gerrard’s side as a basis for believing this Old Firm match can have a successful outcome.
There is a need for Celtic to have something tangible to show for what has been a disappointing and, at times, traumatic nine months that has seen the dismissal of former boss Neil Lennon.
The significance isn’t lost on Elyounoussi who insists it may come down to a tale of two penalty boxes. He said: “It’s important to win a trophy. In recent games against Rangers we were the better team. “It w i l l come down to what we do out on the pitch. It may be l ike any other game but we know it’s about a cup and trophy.”
wh It’s at all in wil abo the l hap ut we box pen ru mu es st – thl be ess