Saturday

“It is a good arena. It is a good place to go and play football.

“We have a point to prove. The last game against Rangers showed that we can do it against the Old Firm, we can compete on our day.

“It showed we can do it.

“So, we will be going down there looking to put in a repeat performance of the last 50 minutes or so against Rangers.

“We went into the Rangers game on the back of some decent form. We had a good unbeaten run and had put some good performances together. We went into that game full of confidence. And the confidence is still there.

“The only set back we had was the Hibs game. It was a strange one because we had the chances to win the game yet somehow found ourselves 3-0 down with 80 minutes gone.

“Since then we bounced back and got three points against Hamilton. The Hibs game was only a blip. The confidence is still there. We want to push on now.

“We can win. But it will take one of our better performances. There will have to be nine and tens all over the pitch. But we know we are capable of that kind of performance.

“It is always a tough game. You can’t ignore the quality that Celtic have. I am sure that every team goes there and sets up to get a positive result from the game. For us it is trying to go down there and get the three points. You can call it defensive or negative tactics, but we have to show some respect. If we go chasing the game and go gun-ho then they have got the quality to pass the ball around us and to punish us, which they did at our place.

“We will go down there with the mentality that we want to win the game and know the manager tactically will get it. It is then up to the players to stick to that game plan.”

Season

“I have been really pleased. I still had a lot to prove. And I still have a lot to prove now. I came up here a couple of seasons’ ago and did not have the best of starts. But the second half of last season was a successful period for me.

“I know there are a few people who doubted me and said it was going to be a one off. But I wanted to prove those people wrong and show that I had the quality and could sustain the form and sustain the goal scoring.

“I have proved myself that I can do it in Scotland but there is still so much more to come from me. I still look back at the games that I play and the chances that I miss. I could still have another half a dozen, ten goals on top of my tally now which is the way I look at it.”

Difference

“I get asked this question a lot and I have now had more time to think about it.

“There are two main aspects.

“There is the confidence side or it. I have come up here and as a striker you thrive off confidence. If you are scoring then it becomes more natural, putting the chances away.

“And experience as well. Aberdeen is probably the first club I have been at where I have had a good run of games. I have played the majority of the games over the past 12 months and that has been invaluable to me.

“It is maybe a cliché; everyone says that you need as much time on the pitch as you can to develop and that is definitely the case for me. I just seem to be learning my game more and more, every game I play and learn other people’s games. I am feeding off that.

“I would say that experience is the main thing that has contributed towards it.”

Pressure

“There is maybe pressure on me to score but that is a pressure I relish and want to have.

“Prior to the game against Hamilton I had scored in two games. It was not playing on my mind, but it was definitely there. I want to score in every game and be there for the team. Scoring goals gets you a lot of attention and scoring goals is nice but there is a lot of work that goes on behind me. Niall is on multiple assists; Ryan is the same. They are the boys who are creating the chances for me. The Hamilton goal, I have peeled off to the back post, but it needs a great ball in from Niall to find me.

“As the main striker you get a lot of pressure to score goals, but it is something I enjoy doing.”

Speculation

“I do hear bits and pieces. I tend not to read all the stuff in the media about it. As a footballer you can’t get away from it. It is nice because it is a compliment to towards me. It shows that I am doing well. But at the end of the day it is not down to me. I just turn up and play football and do as well as I can. I can’t control what happens. That is for people higher up in the club to sort out.

“You can see that some players get carried away with it, but for me it is just about coming in each day and practicing my trade. It is just about playing football every day and working on becoming a better player.

“I would agree 100% that I would benefit from staying here. Aberdeen has been a great club for me; the manager, the coaching staff – they have been invaluable to me. The advice and work they have done with me. That can only continue the longer I stay here.

“So, I would say the longer I stay at Aberdeen the more I will develop and become a better player.”