Neil McCann last night told Celtic fans their taunts won't upset him – because he's heard it all before.
McCann is bracing himself for a red-hot reception going into tonight's Betfred Cup quarter final as the Tayside hosts aim to cause an upset in front of the live cameras.
The 43-year-old manager, who grew up supporting Celtic but joined Rangers in 1998 in a £1.9m deal from Hearts, admits he's been the subject of some strong abuse in the past from the Parkhead faithful.
But the Dens Park manager is so focused on trying to find a way to stop Brendan Rodgers' side that he won't be fazed by the flak being hurled in his direction in the dug-out.
McCann said: "I expect a nice, cheery, warm welcome. Seriously, it's never changed since I've been playing football. I always get the same adulation form the Celtic fans.
"After leaving Rangers, I played against them with Hearts and Falkirk. So there's nothing that they can say to me that I haven't heard before.
"And I've heard some disgusting, despicable things said. But really nothing which they will say will bother me in the slightest. All I care about is my team. At the end of the day, it's my job to concentrate on us and it's not about me."
Of Rodgers' side, he added: "Somebody has got to stop them. I would probably say that every other manager who has come up against Brendan domestically has thought it's going to be us.
"I think it's going to be us, but ultimately the players have got to believe it's going to be them. I can give them all the encouragement and tactics that you want, but when they cross the line they've got to reach inside.
"Literally, they have got to 100-per-cent believe that themselves. Depending on which way the game is going, that will actually have an impact on their mindset.
"I know the size of the task that we've got in hand but I don't have any fear. I've got massive respect for Celtic as a team. I know Brendan has spoken about only keeping the same side once and that shows you what you're up against, that they can afford to change formations and can afford to change personnel and get the same results to go so long unbeaten domestically.
"So I know what we face but I've got full belief in my team if we set up right in a way that we're hard to break down. But what I don't want to do is set them up in a way that we're hard to break down but don't have anything going forward. I just think that's wrong. We're a team that's trying to do the right things so I'm not going to change how I want to play because we're playing against Celtic.
"That would go against everything I believe in. I'm determined to move the club forward. That being said, we won't go trying to play Celtic at their own game because I'm honest enough to say there would only be one winner there. But there's other ways to win a game of football."
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