Celtic midfielder Mika Baur believes the narrow win over St Johnstone can fuel their Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Rangers on Sunday.
The German player scored his debut goal for Celtic in the 1-0 victory, maintaining the team's perfect start to the Premiership season with six wins from six matches.
The 22-year-old feels the result has bolstered the squad’s confidence, readying them for the first Old Firm clash at Ibrox. Baur said: "It will be a special match.
"Everyone knows it's a special match against Rangers. They're a good team; it will be a tough game, difficult, but we will try our best to get into the next round. I think we have good momentum after our recent league matches; we can be confident.
"That's why it's important that we won against St Johnstone, to have that confidence and to look forward to the Rangers match and to go into the match really confident."
Although he scored the winning goal against St Johnstone, Baur emphasised that the win meant more than his goal. He said: "We know we have the quality and we are capable of scoring, capable of defending.
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"It was not a special goal, it was a tap-in, but I'm really happy that I scored it and that we won because it was a tough match, especially in the first half."
He has experienced derby matches during his time with Dynamo Dresden but acknowledges that Sunday's game will be on a different level. He said: "I really don't know what to expect.
"For sure I expect it will be special, but I think I've never experienced something like this - I'm just looking forward and being excited about what's happening on Sunday."
Despite the absence of Celtic supporters at Ibrox, Baur remains unfazed. The decision to continue without away fans at league meetings between the Glasgow rivals this season will not deter him. He said: "We have to accept it, it's not our decision.
"It should not affect us on Sunday, but sure, if you have some fans with you to give you energy, it helps a lot, but it's not our decision. We accept it and try to do our best.
"I've never experienced something like that before, especially if there are just fans there that maybe hate you and don't like you, but I think I can handle that."
