Lustig ready for 'fun' February
Celtic defender Mikael Lustig feels they are hitting form and fitness at the perfect time as they prepare for some momentous cup ties and respond to a title challenge.
With Celtic and Aberdeen vying for top spot in the Scottish Premiership, Lustig helped his team to a third consecutive win by scoring a double in a 4-0 win over Motherwell on Wednesday night.
The Swede came within inches of a second-half hat-trick when he hit the bar in the closing stages as he marked his comeback from a two-month injury lay-off in some style.
The 28-year-old is looking for more action when Celtic face Ross County in Dingwall on Saturday in their final game before the eagerly-awaited QTS Scottish League Cup semi-final against Rangers.
"Hopefully I can stay fit now but of course we know we have a lot of important games and fun games coming up in February," he said.
"The Rangers game of course is a massive game but also the cup game against Inter Milan is going to be big as well.
"You always want to play in the big games so all the players will want to be part of that."
Aberdeen recently matched Celtic's earlier eight-match winning league run, which has jolted Celtic into action in recent weeks.
And with the likes of James Forrest joining Lustig in overcoming injury, and a rejuvenated Leigh Griffiths regaining his place in the team, the Swede feels they have the resources to meet the demands of competing on four fronts.
"We need to be focused on every game now," Lustig said. "Aberdeen have done really well and if they keep winning we need to win as well.
"We are going to need all the players now and we need to be ready when we are out there."
Celtic have scored eight goals without reply in their three games in 2015 and Lustig believes they are showing they have adapted to the tactics of manager Ronny Deila following a difficult opening few months for the Norwegian boss.
"We can still manage to do things better but we always had a feeling we were heading in the right direction," the Sweden international said. "We are getting there.
"When you change manager, it's another way to play and the best way to get better is to play games.
"You know you are going to have some games where you don't look good and you maybe feel a bit lost, but most of the players know how to play the game now and how to work as a team. I think we will be there soon."
Celtic manager Ronny Deila has an unchanged squad. Midfielder Charlie Mulgrew played 56 minutes of a reserve win over Villarreal in midweek but is not expected to feature, while winger Aleksandar Tonev serves the final game of his seven-match ban.
Ross County midfielder Filip Kiss is confident the side can emulate last season's seventh-placed finish - despite being rooted to the bottom of the Scottish Premiership for most of the season.
The Dingwall club lie four points adrift at the foot of the table on 11 points, although they have two games in hand on closest rivals St Mirren.
But Slovakian international Kiss believes the side have more than enough quality to stay in the league and embark on another strong end to the campaign.
Kiss, who returns from suspension for the visit of Celtic, said: "The quality is here. I've never been more confident, maybe to do even better than we did last season when we finished seventh."
County this week signed released Celtic man Marcus Fraser, who joins fellow defender Cameron Burgess and striker Craig Curran in joining the club in this transfer window.
Kiss acknowledges that the transition of personnel has affected team performances but is confident the side will improve in the coming weeks.
"The transition's been huge," the 24-year-old said. "Since I've come here there's been a lot of players coming and leaving. It takes time to gel and to get to know each other on the pitch. That's the reason why we are in this position.
"It has taken time to get to know each other but I'm sure in the coming weeks it is going to get better."
Ross midfielder Richard Brittain faces several weeks out with a torn hamstring while defender Cameron Burgess could also miss the visit of the champions after rolling his ankle.
On-loan Celtic midfielder Jackson Irvine is ineligible but former Hoops defender Marcus Fraser could make his debut after signing until the end of the season.
Source: PA
