Celtic head for Easter Road tomorrow looking for the win which will return them to the top of the SPL table on goal difference but the manager won't be using an inspirational speech to spur his side to victory over Hibs. "We are at the stage where you hardly have to do one." he said. "I hardly did one at Ibrox last week and very little the other night (Dundee United). You're at the stage where you know who you are playing against and there is nothing new tactically that you can spring on anybody."
"You might change the personnel but basically you stay the same." continued the boss. "I have done many motivational speeches which I thought were fantastic and had the dressing room buzzing, and then went out and got beat. So there are times when you just have to leave it or keep it to the minimum and the time is now."
The boyhood Hibs fan expects the Easter Road side to give the Celts as tough a time as they gave the Huns last week. Rangers had to come from behind to snatch the 1-1 draw, a result that helped Celtic regain control in the race for the flag, and Strachan expects they'll be every bit as motivated for our visit. "When the Old Firm come along the circus come to town with regards the media." he said. "The build-up is greater and people tend to up the tempo, that's for sure. But we have the characters who have been over the course."
The title race is still too close to call and whilst that makes for enthralling matches for the fans the manager insists that for those involved at the sharp end it's a stern examination of their credentials. "There's no enjoyment of the ha-ha-ha variety to be had out of this run-in." said Strachan. "The enjoyment comes from the test of your character when there's a professional job to be done. It's for everyone else to enjoy the neck-and-neck aspect of the championship."
"It's trust." he continued. "Trust in your team mates, trust in your own ability and trust in the way you play. It's like the golfer coming down the 16th, 17th and 18th - they've got to trust their swing. It's the same with football, there is a lot of trust to it. You have to trust your team-mates, your manager and coaches and trust that you are doing the right things. No change, no panic, don't do anything different - trust yourself."
"Dundee United are a special case where we're concerned." said Strachan referring to last Tuesday's opponents. "We don't have the same problems with anybody else. They came and gave a super-human effort and genuinely thought they could wipe out a two-goal disadvantage like they did against Celtic earlier in the season. Even our new goalie (Zaluska) had another good night against us before joining Celtic at the end of the month. I have to hope Hibs don't feel morally obliged to give us as hard a time of it as they gave Rangers on Wednesday night."
"I agree there could be another twist left in the tale." concluded the Celtic manager. "But the pair of us can only go out and try to win the games we have left. Goal difference can determine the outcome of the championship but neither Walter Smith nor me can say to our players 'You'd better go out and score more goals than usual today'."