Come the first whistle this weekend, though, that will count for nothing.

“Celtic’s form might not be too good right now, but that hasn’t changed their quality and I know they are a very good team,” he said.

“I didn’t play when we drew down there at the start of the season, but I watched from the bench and saw enough to see that.

“They have good players in every position and we can’t expect them to be easy to beat, but, from my point of view, I just want to go out and show I am as good as their players.”

The former Bristol City man suggested he had the kind of quality to trouble Old Firm opposition when he put in an impressive 45 minutes in the rain-abandoned clash with Rangers at the beginning of the month.

Now, he is relishing the chance to show that was no flash in the pan.

“I was pleased with my performance that day. I’ve been happy with my form for a while and I think the team as a whole has been playing well.

“We want to keep that going on Sunday. These are the big games you look forward to being involved in and we want to do well in them.”

Now he has settled into life in Scotland, he is convinced his move north was exactly what his career needed.

“I never had any real worries about coming here and looked on it as a fresh challenge. I think the gaffer felt I would get better if I was getting a regular game and I thought that, too. Hopefully, I’ve been proving him right and I want to continue that.”

Continuing speculation linking the manager with the Scotland job could have been a distraction for players, but Craig Levein believes his men are 100% focused on Sunday.

“I’ve been very happy with them in training and the only concern has been getting training pitches because it’s been so wet,” he said.

“We went indoors today to make sure we got a decent session and, although it’s not ideal this late in the week, I think it’s a country-wide problem and most clubs will be the same.”

While he’s been generally pleased with the form this term, Craig is still seeking an improvement on Sunday.

“We are at home and I am looking for us to take the game to Celtic. I know we did that against Rangers, but that was abandoned and doesn’t count and last week was only a friendly against Dundee.

“That means for the last game at Tannadice that counted you have to go back to the draw with Hamilton and I am looking for better than that.”

Midfielder Greg Cameron has become the latest Tangerine to head over the water to Fife and join Raith Rovers on loan. Following in the footsteps of David Goodwillie, Damian Casalinuovo, Kevin Smith and Johnny Russell, Cameron has signed up at Stark’s Park for the next month.