Aberdeen winger Gary Mackay-Steven faces his former club Celtic at Pittodrie on Wednesday night with the backing of his manager.
Gary Mackay-Steven has the ideal opportunity to prove an emphatic point to former club Celtic on Wednesday night.
His Aberdeen side are level on points with the champions at the top of the Scottish Premiership table. And a daunting trip to Pittodrie could perhaps be the sternest test yet of Celtic’s 60-game unbeaten domestic record.
After being frozen out of the Hoops squad by manager Brendan Rodgers and sold on to Aberdeen in the summer, Mackay-Steven will be desperate to make a lasting impression on his former employers.
And if recent praise from Dons boss Derek McInnes are anything to go by, Celtic counterpart Rodgers should be a little wary following Mackay-Steven’s superb performance in the 1-0 win at Hibernian on Saturday.
“Gary worked hard to get to that level of performance against Hibs. He was a shining light,” McInnes said in quotes reported by The Scotsman.
“He was bright, played exactly as he’d trained the previous week. It just so happens it’s Celtic now. Any time a player plays against his former club there might be something more on it but once it starts it’s all about the game.”
Aberdeen finished runners up to Celtic in each of the last three Scottish Premiership seasons but, with both sides level on 23 points after unbeaten starts to 2017/18, the current campaign is shaping up to be the tightest yet.
We may even have a title race in Scotland. And the form of Mackay-Steven in his new surroundings could help narrow the gap between the perennial nearly-men and the relentless champions.
Ending Celtic’s long unbeaten record would certainly be a statement.
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