MIKAEL LUSTIG has heard it all before.

Taunts that Celtic are no longer the force they once were. That they are no longer to be feared.

To the laconic Swede, it's rhetoric mixed with bravado and, as such, not worth worrying about let alone allow it to act as any kind of motivation.

So the words of Aberdeen's Johnny Hayes this week won't be pinned to the away dressing room wall when Celtic go to Pittodrie tomorrow.

Neither will they be used as any extra incentive. There is enough hanging on this game without the need for any spur from external sources.

"I have been here for three years and the talk has always been the same," the defender said. "In my first year at the club people said we were not the same team as before - that was after we lost one game.

"By the end of the season we had won the Double."

Lustig understands why Hayes has gone public on his less-than-flattering opinions on Ronny Deila's defending champions, despite Aberdeen's own less-than-impressive start to the campaign.

He said: "To be honest, that is the way other teams need to speak to show their fans they don't fear any opponents.

"It would be stupid to think that one of our opponents is going to come out before the match and say, 'We are scared of Celtic'.

"It's a bit of psychology. If, for example, we have to play Juventus, we are not going to come out before the match and say that we're afraid of them.

"We will say that we believe in ourselves and, if we play the right match and play the best way we can, then we'll have a real chance of winning."

All very pragmatic, while also symptomatic of Celtic's growing confidence after their run of five wins, which was brought to something of a halt when they were held to a draw in foggy Giurgiu on Thursday.

Not even the fact that it was Aberdeen who, in February, ended Celtic's unbeaten league run last season - which by then had stretched to 26 games - will be a factor in shaking off the fatigue of a tough 90 minutes in Romania and the four-hour flight home before they head north for this match.

"You never want to lose any games and they were the ones who finished our unbeaten record last season," said Lustig before adding the caveat, "but it's not like we'll lose a night's sleep over what happened in that game last season.

"Football is never easy and you have to accept you cannot win all of the matches."

It took a wonder strike from Hayes in that match to end keeper Fraser Forster's shut-out record and set up that win against a Celtic side which was reduced to 10 men after Virgil van Dijk was shown a red card in the first half.

That made it a bridge too far for Neil Lennon's team at a venue which is always going to test them to the maximum.

Lustig admitted: "Going to Aberdeen is always tough. We have struggled there in the last couple of games.

"They are a tough team to beat and it is always a really great atmosphere at Pittodrie, just as there is when we play the teams from Edinburgh.

"Playing Aberdeen away is probably one of the biggest Premiership games for us."

On this occasion, it is a key fixture in other ways as Celtic are pushing hard to climb to top spot in the league for the first time this season.

"It is important for us to get the top of the table as quickly as we can," admitted Lustig. "We all want to be there, and we should be there."

DURING this period of transition Deila's players, and the manager himself, have had to juggle competing in Europe on Thursdays with defending their domestic title and challenging for the cups.

The 2,000-mile journey to Romania is as far as they will travel in Europa League Group D, with the logistical challenge aggravated by the fact Giurgiu was deemed unsuitable for their base camp, which was established two hours north in the capital Bucharest.

As he flew home yesterday, Lustig conceded it had been a taxing trip. He said: "It's not easy when you're playing away European matches, then have to return for big matches in the league.

"It was a long journey back from Bucharest and now we need to go straight away up to Aberdeen for Sunday's match.

"That is not the ideal situation, but this is the game and we should be used to it by now.

"When you're a Celtic player you just need to be ready for all situations at all times and also make sure you go out and do a good job.

"We will be refreshed and ready for the Aberdeen game."

The journey would not have been required had the ref decided against starting Thursday's match at Astra's fogbound stadium in Giurgiu.

Uefa's back-up plan was to reschedule the Europa League tie for yesterday afternoon, which would have caused the postponement of tomorrow's match in Aberdeen.

The game in Romania did go ahead but, unfortunately for Celtic, they could not hold on to the lead given to them by Stefan Johansen to secure safe passage to the last 32 with two games remaining.

However, Lustig could see through the gloom to identify positives. He said: "I'm glad we got the Astra game played on Thursday night.

"With the conditions at the beginning it looked for a while that it was not going to happen.

"And while I don't mean any offence to Bucharest or Romania, I would much rather be back in Glasgow than spend extra time over there."