Source: FOOTYMAD
Wilson staking his claim
Mark Wilson is making best use of the absence of Cha Du-Ri to remind Neil Lennon of what he can do. Mark Wilson is hoping his performance in Saturday's Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen at Hampden was enough to confirm him as the man to fill the right-back berth at Parkhead. The former Dundee United captain has had a difficult time with injuries since signing in 2006 but was given his chance again when South Korean team-mate Cha Du-Ri left for the Asian Cup earlier in month. Both Cha and Ki Sung-yueng are due back in Glasgow this week but Wilson, one of many star performers in the 4-1 rout of the Dons, is hoping boss Neil Lennon retains faith in him. He said: "There is strong competition for places and Cha was obviously in and doing well. He is coming back so it's important that I keep playing the way I'm playing and give the manager something to think about. I had to take my chance when he went away and hopefully I have done that and hopefully I can continue in the team. It will be a welcome sight to see Cha back because there are a lot of important games and not the same team will start every game so the more players the better. But I'm enjoying getting a game every week. You need to take that chance when you get it at Celtic and we are on a good run at the moment. It's good to be part of a back four which is pretty solid, although we lost a goal to Aberdeen which as disappointing." Wilson had the chance to score his first Celtic goal following another lung-bursting run down the right in the first half but blazed over the bar. Wilson said: "Five years and no goals - I can't believe that. How many did I score at United? It was something like eight or nine but I just can't seem to get a goal here. It was a good move and it summed up the first-half performance. I thought we were excellent, we cut them open at times and it could have been more. It was hard to replicate that in the second half but it was a fantastic result. I would hate to say we are hitting top form at the right time and then slip up on Tuesday night when we play Aberdeen again in the league but you can only go on the last games and we have been terrific in the last few weeks. Hopefully we can keep it going. It's asking a lot but to be champions that's what you've got to do." Wilson's versatility may be called upon at Pittodrie in midweek when the two semi-finalists meet again. When Thomas Rogne went off with a calf concern in the second half at Hampden, Wilson was moved inside to partner Charlie Mulgrew, who is normally a left-back. Rogne is hoping to be fit for the trip north but has confidence in a defence made up of full backs. He said: "My calf started feeling a bit tight in the second half and when we were 4-0 up we didn't want to take any chances and that's why I went off. We will see how it settles. Everyone talks about our situation in defence and before the Hearts game last week we were told that we had one central defender and that was me, but in the last two games Charlie has been the best player in our defence. We have Willo (Wilson) as well who can play centre-half brilliantly, so it's not an issue. Of course I want to be injury-free and play myself but if I can't play on Tuesday I know the boys will step up and do a brilliant job. There will be no problem."
