Celtic assistant manager John Collins warns of Dundee danger man Greg Stewart
Celtic assistant manager John Collins has acknowledged Greg Stewart as the Dundee danger man ahead of Sunday's Ladbrokes Premiership clash at Parkhead.
The 25-year-old forward joined the Dens Park club from Cowdenbeath in the summer of 2014 and in his first season as a full-time player he scored 15 goals and was named on the four-player shortlist for the PFA Scotland players' player of the year award.
Collins noted that Stewart scored the only goal of the game in Dundee's 1-0 win over Partick at Firhill last week to take his tally to four this season.
The former Celtic midfielder said: "He had a wonderful season last season, scored some excellent goals and is doing exactly the same this year.
"In and around the 18-yard box he's a real threat and has an eye for a goal. He's been a great signing for Paul Hartley and we'll have to keep an eye on him.
"I can only give Paul and his coaching team credit. They came up last season, they play good football and always gives us tough games.
"We will have to be at our best to beat them."
Leaders Aberdeen are looking for their eighth successive league win since the start of the season in their game against Hearts at Tynecastle on Sunday.
And with that match in Gorgie kicking off 45 minutes earlier than the game at Celtic Park, second-placed Hoops could be eight points behind Derek McInnes's side before their game is finished.
However, Collins is reluctant to focus too much on the Dons in terms of how they will handle the pressure of being the front runner in the title race.
"We'll soon find out," he said.
"They are sitting above us and we'll chase them. Last season we weren't out in front and we played catch-up.
"Eventually we caught up and moved clear of them so we'll see how they cope with it."
Collins praised the Celtic players for their efforts in drawing 2-2 with Ajax in Amsterdam in their Europa League Group A opener on Thursday night, saying they showed "terrific spirit".
Five more European games are included in the Parkhead club's fixture list before the end of the year which means subsequent league games will be moved to a Sunday but that does not worry the former Hibernian boss.
He said: "We proved it last season. We coped very well with playing on Thursday and Sunday in both tournaments. The secret is getting good rest between the matches and plenty of sleep."
Dundee manager Paul Hartley expects the boot to be on the other foot when Celtic bid to follow up their draw against Ajax against his side.
Hartley knows his team will need to show the same discipline and organisation in defence that Celtic displayed in their Europa League opener.
And the Dundee boss is also looking to strike a blow against Celtic after winning twice on the road already during the Ladbrokes Premiership season.
Hartley said: "They played a different way than usual because they were away from home in Europe. They looked well organised and I thought they looked a threat.
"But it will be an entirely different game on Sunday from the Ajax one. They will be more on the front foot against us so it's definitely hard to judge.
"We will look to see where we can hurt Celtic and ask: 'Where are they weak?'
"We know we will have to be organised and have good discipline. We want to express ourselves but know we have to be compact too."
Dundee defender James McPake has recovered from a hip injury so will start, but midfielder Paul McGowan (ankle) is out and defender Kosta Gadzhalov (shoulder) is also out.
Source: PAR
