Caley Thistle were too good for second-placed Aberdeen on Monday night, but manager John Hughes has warned his players they must raise their game again to defeat champions Celtic at Parkhead tomorrow.
The Highlanders earned a crucial 3-1 win against the Dons on Monday, which was enough to move them into the top six above St Johnstone on goal difference.
The result left Derek McInnes’ side three points behind the Hoops, who still have a game in hand, putting the Glasgow outfit in pole position to retain the title for a fifth successive season.
Having already had one say in the title race this week, Hughes warned his side must rise to an even greater challenge tomorrow and said: “It was a good result for us the other night, but that was Aberdeen at Inverness, and this is Celtic at Parkhead. It’s a whole different ball game.
“Every time we play Celtic it’s their best team and that will be close to what played in their 2-0 win against Ross County last week.
“They’ve got some wonderful players. They’ve got the best forward in Scotland in Leigh Griffiths who has scored 30 goals.
“Scott Brown has had two games back now after his knee injury, and that means another two weeks of training.
“We know what we’re up against. When we go there we need to carry a bit of luck, but we need to have a real strength of character.
“The players need to have belief in each other, and we need a strong referee because it’s an intimidating arena.
“The same goes for the players. They can’t let Parkhead intimidate them. It has to inspire them and hopefully that will be the case.”
Celtic manager Ronny Deila has come in for criticism this season following a dismal showing in Europe, with their hopes of securing a domestic treble dashed by Ross County’s 3-1 League Cup semi-final win at Hampden Park last month.
Hughes, who played for the Hoops between 1995 and 1996, has sympathy for the Norwegian however, and added: “Everyone wants them to fail. Everyone gets hammered into them.
“The manager, players and coaches have to handle that pressure and control their emotions. When it’s all going crazy around about them, they have to have ice in their veins.
“That’s what management is all about – and Ronny has that.
“Some might say they don’t see him getting animated on the sidelines, but there are other people getting too animated. They don’t let their team play.
“I love the way Ronny goes about it. It tells me he knows something the supporters don’t know. If he’s shouting and bawling, he’s only shouting and bawling like a supporter.
“By all means shout and bawl one or two instructions, but Ronny knows something the supporters don’t know – and that is he trusts his players.”