He will only know for sure how they handle it once the 90 minutes are up, but Craig Levein is backing them to take the occasion in their stride.

“They are all the right type of boys and I do not think that side of going to a place like Celtic will faze them too much,” he said.

“To be frank about it, they should be able to handle the atmosphere and they should be looking forward to it. If you don’t want to be performing on a stage like this, then you should not be a professional footballer.”

Craig was impressed by Dundee’s CIS Cup effort against Celtic on Wednesday, but knows the Hoops in their own back yard can represent a different proposition.

“Dundee did well and Celtic showed them great respect by fielding their strongest available side. But this is going to be a completely different game and they are an even more formidable side down there.”

With Barry Robson and Morgaro Gomis recovering from knocks picked up in the midweek CIS success over Falkirk, the manager has the option of fielding an unchanged side and Robson is expected to continue to fill in at left-back.

While that is an unfamiliar role for him, the skipper did well there at the Falkirk Stadium and was in that position when United came away from Glasgow’s East End with a 3-3 draw the season before last.

Craig, meanwhile, was reasonably happy with the CIS Cup quarter-final draw that paired his men with First Division leaders Hamilton — the tie goes ahead at Tannadice on October 31. “The big thing is that it is home, but it is not an easy draw. I’ve had them watched a few times because they have players I think can do a job in the SPL and I know they are a good side.”

And, if he gets the same approach as against the Hoops, the manager is confident of their chances.

“The players did well the other night, but that’s over now and we are concentrating on the league. If they show me the attitude I got against Celtic, then I have to think we have a good chance,” he said.

“The attitude will have to be right, though. We had a good win over Morton in the cup here, but they have settled in the league and put in some good performances.”

There were a few tired legs after the cup-tie and, in training over the past couple of days, the management team have being paying close attention to Jan Zemlik in particular to see if he is feeling the effects of being used for 90 minutes as a lone striker.

Although the Czech was sent off in the final minute, because it was for a second yellow card, his suspension will be served in next season’s CIS Cup and he is available tomorrow.

“Big Jan was great and I’m still disappointed for him about his sending off because it was very harsh. He put in a hard shift and that is something for us to think about, though he is in the thoughts,” added Alex.

“It was a hard 90 minutes for everyone and we have not done anything too strenuous in training since — we even put the out-of-town boys up in a hotel after the game to cut down on their travel time.

“A couple of them picked up knocks, but we expected them to recover and I’m hoping pretty much everyone is going to be ready.”

The one doubt from midweek is full-back David Worrell, who has a tight hamstring. He has not been ruled out for definite and a late decision is likely to be made on his participation.

A win tomorrow against St Johnstone at Perth will see them go 14 points clear of Saints, so the Perth men must win to climb back into the promotion race.

And Dunfermline must beat Partick Thistle at East End Park to breathe new life into what, so far, has been a dreadful campaign.

Saints are again without long-term injury victims Kevin James and Steven Milne, while Martin Hardie is likely to miss out once more due to his groin injury.

Andy Jackson is a doubt due to a swollen ankle and Rocco Quinn has hardly trained this week due to injury.

But Kevin Rutkiewicz comes back into contention after being rested for the midweek Challenge Cup win over Brechin, Derek McInnes should have recovered from injury in time, and Peter MacDonald, who has been out, is in line for a place.

“Hamilton are top of the First Division on merit and had a great CIS Insurance Cup victory over Kilmarnock. But we’ve had three wins and two draws in our last five games and are looking to get another win,” said Saints team boss Owen Coyle.

Saints’ central defender Allan McManus was also in a winning frame of mind, stating, “We never think about being beaten. If we play as we can, we’ll win.”

Dunfermline will have to do without the injured Aaron Labonte, but could welcome back Greg Shields and Scott Wilson for the visit of Partick.

The Pars played well in spells against Hearts in the CIS Cup but eventually lost 4-1.

“We’ve been playing well enough in some games but need to start winning,” said manager Stephen Kenny. “It’s important to get three points tomorrow.”

Footnote — Tomorrow marks the last St Johnstone match for the Perth club’s Aggie Moffat, famous for her spat with then Rangers manager Graeme Souness. After 26 years with the club, Aggie retires on Tuesday.