THE much-acclaimed Parkhead roar is likely to be muted when Celtic and Partick Thistle go head-to-head in the East End tonight.

But Jags star Kris Doolan insists the atmosphere, or lack of, won't have an adverse affect on Alan Archibald's side as they bid for League Cup glory.

Thistle make the trip across Glasgow in high spirits that they can cause an upset and book a place in the last four of the competition against a Hoops outfit that have flattered to deceive so often this term. It is not just on the park where Celtic have not been at their strongest, with the noise coming from the stands far less intimidating for opposition players than it once was.

But Doolan is confident the Jags can shine no matter if the roof is raised or you could hear a pin drop inside Parkhead as he looks to give the red and yellow army something to cheer.

"I'm sure the Celtic players might notice smaller crowds but we don't bother," he said. "It doesn't make the game any bigger or smaller for us.

"It's still a game against Celtic which for us is the toughest game you can come up against.

"We'll give it the respect it deserves. I'm sure there will still be an atmosphere. You can obviously tell if there are an extra 20,000 people there making noise but we just focus on ourselves.

"Hopefully we can give our fans something to shout about rather than the Celtic fans."

A trip to Parkhead may be the toughest tie in the hat at this stage of the competition, but it is not a reason to be fearful for Archibald or his players.

The Jags performed well on derby day at the start of the year and were unlucky to head back to Firhill on the end of a 1-0 defeat.

Hamilton have already claimed a scalp at Celtic Park this season while Kilmarnock acquitted themselves well against the Hoops on Premiership duty at the weekend.

Doolan said: "Cup games are notorious, anything can happen. They're less predictable than league games. So it would be nice if we could go there and get a result.

"We can't sit back for 90 minutes. We have to have a go at them as you know they'll be doing that to you.

"I can understand why Kilmarnock had a go at them on Sunday and went toe-to-toe for 20 minutes. We've got nothing to fear going there."

Having failed to find any consistency in the Premiership so far this term as they have struggled to string results together and climb the top flight standings, a League Cup clash is a welcome break from the norm for Thistle.

Cup runs have become a rarity for the Jags in recent seasons, but Doolan is determined their dreams won't end at the last eight stage as they set their sights on a semi-final at Hampden.

He said: "Every team wants a cup run because it's a break from the pressures of the league. It's a nice distraction. And to get this far, you definitely want to get to the final if you can.

"There haven't been many cup finals at the club so it would be nice if we could progress again. It would be nice to give the fans something else to look forward to."