Rugby Park has been tough for Celtic in their recent visits and you can imagine that Steve Clarke will have Kilmarnock well up for this one.

You would have to say that Clarke, whom I once tried to sign at Celtic and was told to fund it myself, has been exceptional down at Killie.

But you have to remember that he did not come out of nowhere.

He is a vastly experienced player and manager who has been involved in football at the very highest level and that is showing with the job that he is doing at Rugby Park.

But Sunday’s game now is huge for Celtic.

If European football has become a harrowing environment for the Parkhead side then domestically they have not been found wanting under Brendan Rodgers.

It is an intriguing tussle between the two managers.

Celtic made an impeccable start to the latter part of the campaign and although there was an argument to suggest that they hadn’t really been tested, you can only beat who is in front of you.

But going down to Rugby Park with all that entails is a pretty difficult ask of Celtic on the back of a night like the one they endured on Thursday.

I strongly suspect it will be a pretty different team, too, with a number of changes made.

Emilio Izaguirre looked lost against Valencia and I think Jonny Hayes will come back in. I also think that Odsonne Edouard will lead the line with a view to starting the game over in Spain next week.

The bottom line is that Celtic need to go and get a result at what has been a difficult ground for them of late.