ANGRY Aussie Ryan McGowan will be the target for the boo-Bhoys when he returns to the scene of his midweek crime today.

The international defender was sent off for a wild lunge at Liam Henderson as Celtic beat Dundee United 4-0 in their Scottish Cup quarter-final replay.

But McGowan is free to play at Parkhead because the SFA could not arrange a hearing to consider his appeal against the red card before next week.

However, Hoops keeper Craig Gordon believes his former Hearts team-mate will not be fazed if he is singled out for special attention by the Celtic fans.

Gordon said: ""If that is the case, I don't think he will be overawed by that. I know Ryan, and he will probably enjoy it. He's that type of boy.

"He wears his heart on his sleeve and goes out and gives 100 per cent. It's something he will have to deal with, and I'm sure he will."

The closing-minutes challenge on sub Henderson enraged the teenager's team-mates.

It was the second red of the night - Anthony Stokes had already gone for retaliating against Paul Paton - and the sixth in the three games between the clubs in the past fortnight.

McGowan has been heavily involved in most of the major flashpoints, and Gordon added: "Ryan has always been a confident lad, and that has probably helped him.

"Hearts fans still hold him in very high regard, probably just as much for his Twitter account as for his football."

McGowan has been using social media to protest his innocence over the red-card incident.

And Gordon said: "Ryan is a hard player who likes a challenge. I've not seen it (his tackle on Henderson) back, and I was about 100 yards away. I don't exactly know what happened, but, thankfully, Liam is okay.

"Perhaps Ryan just lost the head for a split second with the way the games have been going. That's a difficult thing to actually put up with if you are losing a couple of games to the same opposition and somebody is trying a bit of skill to beat you in the corner.

"It takes a lot to keep a calm head. But both sets of players are going to have to do that to make sure we keep a full complement of players on the pitch."

For all the accusations and counter-accusations made since the midweek cup replay, Gordon believes there is no vendetta between the players.

"I don't think there is any bad blood," said the keeper. "It's up to us as players to keep things under control and make sure we are pointing our aggression in the right way and to keep a lid on it.

"Both teams want to win. If you don't win, however, you shake hands and get off the pitch."