Celtic manager Tony Mowbray is determined to lift the gloom around Parkhead by leading his side to a crucial victory in Sunday’s Old Firm derby against Rangers.
The Hoops travel to Ibrox in downbeat mood after being held to a lacklustre draw by Rapid Vienna in the Europa League on Thursday.
Mowbray has also been criticised for Celtic’s sometimes laboured victories in the league so far this season and his team selection has been called into question.
But Mowbray knows Celtic will go seven points clear of reigning champions Rangers at the top of the table with victory at Ibrox this weekend and he is focused on getting a result which could transform the perception of his brief reign.
“You have to handle the aftermath of a 1-1 draw with Rapid Vienna being a disaster,” Mowbray said.
“The feedback is that there is still negativity and I can’t get sidetracked by any negativity.
“It is not a problem for me, it is a problem for a lot of people who work in and around your business.
“We haven’t lost a league game yet and so we aren’t doing too badly.”
In such a passionate football city as Glasgow it is inevitable that fans and pundits will deluge Mowbray with their opinions about how to do his job. But the former West Bromwich Albion chief will manage Celtic his way.
“In this job, there is a thousand people who will tell you are not picking the right team, or you are not getting them to do this, you are not getting them to do that,” Mowbray said.
“People say, ‘I can’t believe he did this – why did he do that?’
“You can’t have a thousand people picking the team and managing the team.
“There is only one man who does it, if you get your shot at it, so you must do it your way.
“If you do it everybody else’s way and you keep chopping and changing, you will have regrets somewhere down the line.
“So when you get a shot at management and being in the position of picking the team, you do it your way, not everyone else’s way.
“When you get beaten, it’s easy to say, ‘He got it wrong’, but there is a reason behind why you do it and there are reasons why I pick a certain team.
“If it doesn’t work, I don’t throw the balls up and see how they come down.
“So all the criticism and advice you get, I’m not interested in.”
