Celtic winger Gary Mackay-Steven says the Hoops will be out to avenge their Hampden hurt when they take on Aberdeen in a top of the table clash at Pittodrie today.
The Parkhead club’s hopes of a domestic treble were ended on Sunday when they suffered a shock 3-1 defeat to Ross County in their Scottish League Cup clash at Hampden.
Mackay-Steven had managed to put his side ahead after just 25 seconds but Efe Ambrose’s dismissal in the 13th minute helped County to come from behind to book their place in the League Cup final for the first time.
Ronny Deila’s side have little time to dwell on the defeat before they face nearest rivals Aberdeen as the Glasgow giants aim to move nine points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
And Mackay-Steven says the Celtic players will be on a mission to help fire the Hoops a step closer to their fifth league title in a row.
“It’s not nice. We had an eye on wanting to win a treble but it’s such a difficult thing to do,” the Scottish winger said.
“That is gone now and we move on. There is still a lot to play for and there is no bigger game to play straight after this than tomorrow against Aberdeen. We are looking to bounce back in that.
“Well I think all the boys, me included, we cannot play a game quickly enough after a defeat like this.
“Wednesday cannot come quickly enough and we will be looking to right that wrong.”
Two players who could be in line to make their debut at the home of the Dons are transfer deadline day signings Patrick Roberts and Colin Kazim-Richards.
Roberts joined the Hoops on an 18-month loan deal from Manchester City while Turkish striker Kazim-Richards has signed a two-and-a-half year deal from Dutch side Feyenoord.
Aberdeen go into the match on the back of a 10-game unbeaten league run stretching back to October 31 when they lost 3-1 to Celtic at Parkhead.
Manager Derek McInnes, whose side were runners-up last year with a record points total, has already witnessed his side defeat the champions 2-1 at Pittodrie back in September and has faith that the Dons can produce a repeat performance.
“We all have belief in ourselves that we can win games,” McInnes said.
“We feel that if we can keep that competitive edge to our game and bring enough strong performances individually then we are always capable of going on the type of run we are on at the minute.
“At the start of the season we put together a strong run by winning the first eight league games. A lot of teams in the league can go on decent runs but not many can do it twice like we have. We are hopeful we can continue the current run as long as possible.”