Post by Taxigirl on Feb 11, 2004 10:49:50 GMT
Celtic assistant manager John Robertson believes the secret to their success is having 11 Roy Keanes in their side.
The runaway Bank of Scotland Premier League leaders travel to Dunfermline looking to stretch their unbeaten record in the competition to 30 consecutive matches.
Nottingham Forest hold the British record for the longest sequence without defeat of an incredible 42 matches under Brian Clough from November 1977 to December 1978.
But nobody would bet against Celtic reaching that milestone and Robertson, who was part of that side, believes having a team of winners is behind their years of success.
"They are good players," he explained. "They really are top players.
"They are fantastic and they've been like that for three-and-a-half years.
"Their application, commitment and ability to play is terrific and in every game they want to win.
"I suppose everybody would love to end that but they are a good bunch of players and they are determined to keep going.
"I hope that they are getting better. They just want to win and Roy Keane is somebody like that. If he was on two bob or 50 grand he would approach the game exactly the same.
"He is a winner and a good player. An awful lot of them here are just like that.
"I don't know what it is in their make-up, but they just want to win. The Nottingham Forest team and Celtic team are winners.
"Martin and Brian (Clough) had their own ways of doing things but both are charismatic and winners which conveys to the players. Winning breeds confidence."
Dunfermline manager Jimmy Calderwood believes Celtic are even better this season than last.
He went as far as to suggest that only Real Madrid and Manchester United would be confident of beating them at home.
Calderwood said: "They were always a big, strong team but football-wise they have gone on to another level.
"I watched the game on Saturday and they knocked the ball about with confidence which is sky-high.
"It's not the easiest place to go to, Tynecastle, and they never gave Hearts a sniff.
"I thought they were absolutely magnificent. We know about their big plusses in defence and from dead ball situations but their football is very good.
"I don't think you can be confident of victory against Celtic. Maybe Real Madrid or Manchester United but there's not many places you can do it against them."
The runaway Bank of Scotland Premier League leaders travel to Dunfermline looking to stretch their unbeaten record in the competition to 30 consecutive matches.
Nottingham Forest hold the British record for the longest sequence without defeat of an incredible 42 matches under Brian Clough from November 1977 to December 1978.
But nobody would bet against Celtic reaching that milestone and Robertson, who was part of that side, believes having a team of winners is behind their years of success.
"They are good players," he explained. "They really are top players.
"They are fantastic and they've been like that for three-and-a-half years.
"Their application, commitment and ability to play is terrific and in every game they want to win.
"I suppose everybody would love to end that but they are a good bunch of players and they are determined to keep going.
"I hope that they are getting better. They just want to win and Roy Keane is somebody like that. If he was on two bob or 50 grand he would approach the game exactly the same.
"He is a winner and a good player. An awful lot of them here are just like that.
"I don't know what it is in their make-up, but they just want to win. The Nottingham Forest team and Celtic team are winners.
"Martin and Brian (Clough) had their own ways of doing things but both are charismatic and winners which conveys to the players. Winning breeds confidence."
Dunfermline manager Jimmy Calderwood believes Celtic are even better this season than last.
He went as far as to suggest that only Real Madrid and Manchester United would be confident of beating them at home.
Calderwood said: "They were always a big, strong team but football-wise they have gone on to another level.
"I watched the game on Saturday and they knocked the ball about with confidence which is sky-high.
"It's not the easiest place to go to, Tynecastle, and they never gave Hearts a sniff.
"I thought they were absolutely magnificent. We know about their big plusses in defence and from dead ball situations but their football is very good.
"I don't think you can be confident of victory against Celtic. Maybe Real Madrid or Manchester United but there's not many places you can do it against them."