SOCCEROO Scott McDonald hopes to end the season with a goal-tsunami to sink rivals Rangers' title dream after rediscovering his devastating goal-scoring form.
To see McDonald in action for Celtic and some of his goals...
But he admits Celtic have their work cut out to win their remaining seven games - including two Old Firm derbies with the first overnight tomorrow.
McDonald appeared destined for the sidelines in the season run-out after losing the killer touch that saw him dominate the Scottish goal-scoring charts.
And he was furious when he was subbed off two weeks ago, sparking a touchline tantrum that turned fans against manager Gordon Strachan until the Aussie later apologised.
Last weekend though he found the back of the net again for only his second goal in eight games before being replaced with his side comfortably in front for the4-1 win over Motherwell.
He has now healed the rift with Strachan and told The Times in the UK: “It’s always nice to come off when you’ve scored.
“The manager made a joke that he was scared to take me off and we shared a laugh.
“Frustrations come out when things aren’t going for you, but we’ve all said our piece and put it behind us and I think the team has shown a lot of unity this week.
"Hopefully we can take that with us into the remaining games of the season.”
He added: “Hopefully this can be the start of a seven game unbeaten run.
“More than anything we know Old Firm games are a battle, and we got that at Fir Park. It should set us up well. I reckon the tackles will be flying in and we’re all looking forward to trying to get the win that we want.
“If you don’t take your chances, especially, in an Old Firm game, then we aren’t going to win and we need to be clinical against Rangers.
"The whole team has taken a lot of stick, but you have to take it and get on with it and hopefully now people have seen that we are as determined as ever and we haven’t given up on anything.
“If we harbour any hopes of challenging Rangers we need to win our last seven SPL games, starting with Wednesday night. Rangers are a good team, we know that, but hopefully if we take our chances then we can get the result we need.
"It was a test of character and it was vital for us to go to Motherwell and get not just a win but a good performance as well.”
To see McDonald in action for Celtic and some of his goals...
But he admits Celtic have their work cut out to win their remaining seven games - including two Old Firm derbies with the first overnight tomorrow.
McDonald appeared destined for the sidelines in the season run-out after losing the killer touch that saw him dominate the Scottish goal-scoring charts.
And he was furious when he was subbed off two weeks ago, sparking a touchline tantrum that turned fans against manager Gordon Strachan until the Aussie later apologised.
Last weekend though he found the back of the net again for only his second goal in eight games before being replaced with his side comfortably in front for the4-1 win over Motherwell.
He has now healed the rift with Strachan and told The Times in the UK: “It’s always nice to come off when you’ve scored.
“The manager made a joke that he was scared to take me off and we shared a laugh.
“Frustrations come out when things aren’t going for you, but we’ve all said our piece and put it behind us and I think the team has shown a lot of unity this week.
"Hopefully we can take that with us into the remaining games of the season.”
He added: “Hopefully this can be the start of a seven game unbeaten run.
“More than anything we know Old Firm games are a battle, and we got that at Fir Park. It should set us up well. I reckon the tackles will be flying in and we’re all looking forward to trying to get the win that we want.
“If you don’t take your chances, especially, in an Old Firm game, then we aren’t going to win and we need to be clinical against Rangers.
"The whole team has taken a lot of stick, but you have to take it and get on with it and hopefully now people have seen that we are as determined as ever and we haven’t given up on anything.
“If we harbour any hopes of challenging Rangers we need to win our last seven SPL games, starting with Wednesday night. Rangers are a good team, we know that, but hopefully if we take our chances then we can get the result we need.
"It was a test of character and it was vital for us to go to Motherwell and get not just a win but a good performance as well.”
To see McDonald in action for Celtic and some of his goals...
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