Livingston forward Joel Nouble is relishing the opportunity to play the Old Firm in back-to-back games and insists the fact he scored against Rangers last week is proof he can perform against the country's big two, writes Angus McGregor.
The Lions earned a well deserved point at Ibrox last weekend but now host champions Celtic on Sunday at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
The striker has enjoyed good form against the blue half of the Old Firm, scoring in both fixtures against Rangers this term, which has helped install more belief into the player in these big games.
He commented: "Having the Old Firm back-to-back is something to look forward to. These are the games you want to play in.
"Playing Rangers last season was different, I was excited to be there but this season I am going into it knowing I can do well. I scored against them on the first day of the season so I know I can do it. It was a great thing to do and it boosts your confidence.”
Nouble netted his third goal of the campaign last weekend and said netting at Ibrox was a career highlight - albeit with a strange atmosphere.
He said: "I had a very good moment - the best of my career so far - against Rangers last weekend. I really enjoyed it, when the ball hit the net there was just silence and you think to yourself ‘did I score or did I not score?’ but then you see all the angry faces!”
The forward has proven to be a nuisance to one half of the Old Firm, with many likening his presence to that of former Livi striker Lyndon Dykes - with Nouble hoping to be able to follow in the footsteps of the Scotland striker.
Dykes started off at Queen of the South - similarly to Nouble’s spell at Arbroath - before making headlines with performances at Livingston which in turn led to a move to the English Championship for a club record fee.
Nouble commented: "Look at Lyndon Dykes, he was here and he’s kicked on doing well. He built his career up from being in the lower leagues then playing for Livingston before going to QPR.
"They are now top of the Championship and he’s Scotland’s main striker. Playing here and doing well is a good thing for forwards”.
Ahead of the weekend’s game, Nouble reflected on the opponents, with him finding it hard to believe that the Glasgow side will be paying too much attention to himself with a massive European game around the corner as they face Real Madrid midweek.
He said: "It’s quite funny to think they’ll have been doing their work on Shakhtar earlier in the week, next week they’ll be looking at Vinicius Jnr, Benzema, Modric - but in the middle it will be Joel Nouble.
"That’s pretty crazy, there won’t be too many teams who have gone from Livingston to the Bernabau. That’s quite funny but it will be good, we can’t wait.”
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