Livingston boss David Martindale has rejected the notion that Celtic are out of form as the pair prepare to meet in the Scottish Cup.
The Lions face the current Scottish Premiership holders at Parkhead on Sunday hoping to provide a shock and book their place in the semi-final draw.
Celtic fell to a 2-0 defeat against Heart of Midlothian last weekend - although they were tasked with playing the majority of the fixture with 10-men following Hyun-Jun Yang's sending off.
That rare loss has meant the pressure has intensified on manager Brendan Rodgers. Although, his counterpart Martindale isn't reading too much into it, and highlighted Celtic beating Livingston with a man less earlier in the season.
He declared: “They were playing with 10 men for the majority of the game. I’ll take an early sending-off for them but I don’t think you can read too much into that game. It’s difficult, we played Celtic here this season with 10 men and they still beat us 3-0.”
Martindale also feels Callum McGregor's absence will be felt at Celtic, with the Hoops captain set for a spell on the treatment table.
He added: “I hope Callum makes a quick recovery because you want to see the best players playing, obviously with Scotland coming up.
“Callum is an outstanding talent but I mean this in the manner it should be meant, I’d be delighted if he wasn’t on the team sheet.
“It’s disappointing from a Scotland fan’s point of view but from a Livingston point of view it’s a positive. I also think Hatate is a huge player for Celtic.
“But I hear they are not on form – they are two points off the top with two Old Firm games to go. So I’m not really buying into that narrative.
“They have a top manager, they are a top club, and it’s going to be a difficult game of football.”
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