Bhoys hopes take a tumble

Dundee 1 Celtic 1

Martin O'Neill's men could only take a point from the first of their three games in hand over Rangers, as Alan Thompson's opener was cancelled out by former Hoops striker Mark Burchill.

But Celtic manager Martin O'Neill refused to hand the title over to Rangers despite slipping eight points behind their arch-rivals.

The Hoops still have two games in hand on the Light Blues but the Parkhead boss highlighted the final Old Firm game of the season as the crunch point.

O'Neill said: "Overall, we did fine and we are far from finished. I still expect points to be lost in the championship race. Dundee is a difficult place to come to.

"We tried to get forward in the second-half and left a number of gaps, which Dundee almost exploited.

"We got everyone in Dundee's penalty box and they broke on us with five men to one. I'm not sure that is the most sensible attitude to take but, at the end of it all, we have been positive and tried to do the right thing.

"We still have to go to Ibrox so it is still within our reach. We still have to win all our games which is a big ask but we are there. We wouldn't want it any other way."

O'Neill is confident goalkeeper Rob Douglas and defender Joos Valgaeren will be fit for the UEFA Cup semi-final first leg on Thursday.

But he will assess the fitness of wing-back Didier Agathe ahead of an under-21 game against Livingston after his absence since March 8 with a hamstring tear.

O'Neill said: "Rob Douglas will have a better chance of playing on Thursday because he missed out today. I hope that is the case and that is the same for Joos Valgaeren and Didier Agathe. Didier has not played for a while but we have an U-21 game tonight so we will see how he feels in the morning."

But O'Neill refuted suggestions his players had one eye on Boavista on Thursday. He said: "Not at all. Sometimes, we can play badly not too often in the years I have been involved here. But there is absolutely no questioning of players' determination and commitment. Absolutely not."

Dundee boss Duffy praised his players for their efforts and appealed for more of the same in the Tennent's Scottish Cup quarter-final replay against Falkirk on Wednesday.

He said: "We knew Celtic would put us under pressure but, if we could retain our organisation, which we did, we knew we could always be a threat on the break.

"The whole back four did really well. You have to be at the top of your game against Hartson and Larsson and the defence were excellent.

"Fabian Caballero worked his socks off and what a great piece of skill to set up Mark Burchill's goal. He is an entertainer but I'm delighted for Burchie too.

"It is a role reversal for us in midweek. Everyone is expecting us to win. So we have to handle that responsibility and approach it in the same way we did today. If we do that, I will be pleased."

But Duffy admits he will have to wait until the end of the season before he can negotiate a possible long-term deal for striker Burchill. The former Celt is on loan until the end of the campaign from Portsmouth.

DUNDEE: Speroni, Mackay, Wilkie, Hernandez Santos, Smith, Rae, Nemsadze, Mair, Caballero (Brady 90), Burchill (Novo 61), Lovell (Milne 76).

CELTIC: Broto, Balde, Mjallby, Crainey, Sylla (Smith 52), Lambert, Lennon, Petrov, Thompson, Hartson, Larsson.

Referee: W Young (Scotland).