Celtic take confidence & momentum into 'special' derby - Baur

Mika Baur can't wait for his first taste of the "special" Old Firm derby on Sunday after maintaining Celtic's winning momentum with his maiden strike for the club. The German midfielder's second-half strike proved against St Johnstone on Wednesday night as Martin O'Neill's leaders made it six Premiership wins from six. Now comes a trip to face Rangers with a place in the League Cup semi-finals at stake. "It will be a special match," said the 22-year-old, who joined from Bundesliga side Paderborn last month. "Everyone knows it's a special match against Rangers. They're a good team, it will be a tough game, difficult, but we will try our best to get into the next round. "I think now we have good momentum because of the last matches in the league, we can be confident for sure. "That's why it's important we won against St Johnstone, to have that confidence and to look forward to the Rangers match and to go into the match really confident. "We know we have the quality and we are capable of scoring, capable of defending. "It was not a special goal, it was a tap-in, but I'm really happy that I scored it and that we won because it was a tough match, especially in the first half." Baur admitted the intensity of Sunday's occasion will be unlike anything he has experienced before in his career in the German lower leagues. "I really don't know what to expect," he said. "For sure I expect it will be special, but I think I've never experienced something like this. "I'm just looking forward and being excited about what's happening on Sunday. "I played two derbies, but it was during my time in Dresden. They were also special, there are some really tough derbies, but I think you cannot compare it to something like Sunday." No Celtic supporters will be in attendance at Ibrox on Sunday, but Baur said: "We have to accept it, it's not our decision. "I've never experienced something like that before, especially if there are just fans there that maybe hate you and don't like you, but I think I can handle that." [BBC]