Partick skipper Abdul Osman: We owe Celtic one for last-minute defeat
Partick Thistle skipper Abdul Osman is gunning for revenge against Celtic at Firhill on Saturday.
The Jags were beaten by a last-minute Leigh Griffiths goal when the sides last met in the Ladbrokes Premiership at Celtic Park on January 2.
Osman is expecting a tough match against the league leaders but is hoping to put the record straight following the Parkhead disappointment.
The 29-year-old told the club's official website: "I think we owe them one after the game at Celtic Park. Personally, I think that one hurt the most.
"We went there and put in a performance and probably deserved to win but that's how the top teams punish you.
"We know we have to put in a similar performance and hopefully with home advantage and our fans behind us we can get a result."
Thistle were leading second-place Aberdeen at Firhill on Tuesday night thanks to a wonderful Steven Lawless strike.
However, two goals in two minutes - both from set-pieces - saw the Dons claim a 2-1 victory and move to within a point of Ronny Deila's side at the top of the table.
The former Crewe and Northampton midfielder knows the Hoops will capitalise on any similar lapses.
He said: "We know we have to concentrate, we know that if you make any mistakes against the top sides they punish you. We saw that on Tuesday night against Aberdeen.
"We were performing well, we were the better team and then switched off and suddenly Aberdeen are in front.
"You have to get everything spot on in these games from back to front but we know we have the players to do that.
"It's always disappointing when you have done well and come away with nothing but that's football.
"That's what happens when you play these teams but we are learning from that and we have to pick ourselves up to go again on Saturday."
Celtic have a William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Rangers to look forward to, but while manager Deila was "delighted" with that draw, he stressed his main excitement was continuing their quest for a fifth consecutive title.
"I think there is something to look forward to but there is also a lot of games in the league to look forward to," Deila said. "We can start seeing the end of it.
"We are talking five in a row here. That's a big thing. The league is very, very important and that's first of all what we have to focus on."
Thistle boss Alan Archibald stated this week that his side would try to exploit any title-race nerves in Celtic.
But Deila said: "Title nerves is the wrong word. We are looking forward to every game now. We have put ourselves in a situation that we wanted to be in at the start of the season.
"We want to be top of the league and we want to be fight for cup titles and that's where we are now."
Source: PAR
