DUNDEE defender Darren O’Dea has pinpointed the two main reasons why his former club Celtic have compiled such an impressive 56-match winning run: manager Brendan Rodgers and captain Scott Brown. The Scotland midfielder was in dominant form on Tayside on Wednesday night as the Parkhead side warmed up for Saturday’s visit to Ibrox with a 4-0 win at Dens Park and O’Dea feels the consistency of Celtic’s form is mainly a testament to the standards of two men.

“Is it surprising they have gone on such a long unbeaten run?” said the Irishman. “Not surprising but it is impressive. Those two people there, the manager and Scott Brown, is why they have probably gone that far. From the outside in, I would look at it and think that is the reason why, because their standards are so high.”

While there was plenty to admire about Dundee’s play on the night, the bottom line was that they were on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline, their heaviest to defeat to Celtic on Tayside for 14 years. “It is a sore one,” conceded a philosophical O’Dea. “We have been beaten by a very good side. The score probably wasn’t a fair reflection of the result but whether the 1-0 or 4-0, you are out of the cup so it is what it is.

O’Dea took umbrage at the suggestion that Dundee’s approach had been overly physical “I don’t’ think so,” he said. “We were competitive, you have to be. They are big boys and well able to handle themselves. It was competitive, a fair match, but they were the better team and deserved to go through even if it was a bit harsh on us.”