Inverness boss John Hughes aims to exploit Celtic weakness
Inverness boss John Hughes reckons Celtic's inability to defend set-pieces was behind their European downfall.
Now he has promised to exploit that weakness when his team host Ronny Deila's under-pressure side on Sunday.
The Hoops saw their Europa League ambitions snuffed out by Thursday night's 2-1 defeat to Ajax.
But it was their failure to deal with corners both home and away which cost them in their Champions League qualifiers with Malmo earlier this campaign.
They were also exposed by a set-piece in their 2-2 draw with Fenerbache at Parkhead in early October and Hughes claims he has spotted a chink in their armour.
Speaking ahead of their Ladbrokes Premiership meeting, the Caley Thistle manager said: "We have to be positive and know that we can score against Celtic.
"They are quite a formidable team but there is weaknesses in there and I think you to belief that we can score.
"We've proved we can do that and I think they are a little bit vulnerable at set-pieces. They are no longer zonal, they have gone touch-tight with just one or two marking zonally.
"We just have to go and capitalise on that.
"Ronny has been getting some stick but that goes with the territory of being Celtic manager. You get judged on every game.
"I thought Celtic created enough chances to beat Ajax on Thursday but they just needed to take them. However, they just haven't seemed to carry much luck in Europe.
"They showed they were vulnerable in Europe at set-pieces and it cost them dear."
Deila now faces serious questions over his Celtic Park future following another failure on the European stage.
But Hughes claims the Norwegian's side can still reign supreme at home.
"Domestically they still have a squad that will want to win the treble," the former Hoops defender said.
"The young kids they have got - Scott Allan, Ryan Christie ,who they have signed from us, Liam Henderson, Callum McGregor, Stuart Armstrong, Gary Mackay-Steven - are all Scottish, so they are doing something right with their recruitment.
"It just takes time for them to get settled in.
"For a lot of guys, going to a club like that can be too much for them. They don't have the strength of character.
"But I can see a real team underneath and with the likes of Scott Brown, Nir Bitton and Stefan Johansen already there they are still the best of Scotland."
Celtic assistant manager John Collins is looking forward to taking on Caley boss and good friend John Hughes as he hopes Celtic make an instant recovery from their European woes.
The former Hoops midfielder said: "I'm looking forward to the game. It's always a challenge against my old mate Yogi (Hughes).
"They never make it easy for you, it's never an easy place to go.
"It's their cup final. Wherever we go it's our opponents' cup final. They've got nothing to lose and everything to gain. It's the opposite for us.
"We'll go there and do what we've been doing domestically, which is putting in good performances and scoring goals."
Celtic will assess midfielder Kris Commons, who has been out recently with a combination of a hamstring injury and illness, but Charlie Mulgrew is out with a recurrence of a thigh injury.
Source: PAR
