Tansey keen to hit goal trail
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GREG Tansey is determined to hit the goal trail after getting off the mark against Motherwell last weekend.
The former Stevenage midfielder notched his first of the season at Fir Park and said he has put it upon himself to contribute more goals this season.
Three goals came from Tansey last season, including the thunderbolt he fired past Jamie MacDonald in the League Cup semi-finals.
There would be no better team to add to his tally against than Celtic, who lie a point behind Caley Thistle in the fight for top spot in the Scottish Premiership.
He believes it is the sign of a top midfielder to regular contribute goals and said it takes the pressure of some of his teammates.
"I’ve personally put it on myself to score more goals because I believe all good midfielders do," he said. We’ve got goals all over the pitch and seeing Aaron (Doran) scoring like he did on Saturday, was a great goal but I’m not surprised.
"I’d say it takes the pressure off Billy too, because he’s been our main striker and one of the best in the league for a couple of seasons now.
"I know a sort of ball-park figure that I want to hit but circumstances in seasons change."
"It was good to get off the mark, it was a bit of a silver lining."
The Glasgow giants come to the Highlands on the back of some impressive results in two competitions.
Ronny Deila’s men won their first game of the season at St Johnstone last week, before returning home to thump high-flying Dundee United 6-1.
A reprieve in the Champions League meant they could take on Slovenian side NK Maribor on Wednesday night, where they drew 1-1.
The travelling will not let up for Celtic, who face coming back from central Europe straight up to the Highlands for an early kick-off.
Some teams may be overawed by the prospect of the league champions and Tansey stressed it is important Caley Thistle do not fall into that trap.
"Maybe there is, especially at Parkhead. I think the fact it’s at home and in front of our own fans, hopefully they get behind us and spur us on that bit extra," he said.
"But they are a massive club in Europe, not just in Scotland. People might have that feeling where they don’t like playing them and think they are better than them before they even get on the pitch.
"We’re not going to have any of that. It’s 11-v-11 at the end of the day.
"They had a very good result against Dundee United so I don’t think you can say we’ll catch them cold. he whole attacking lineup is very strong. There’s goals in all of them — Griffiths, Commons, Stokes. They’re very clinical at this level so it’s hard to concentrate on one. One of the others would probably creep up on you and score.
"The last two games they’ve looked very good and it’s just going to be a case of concentrating on ourselves and playing our game."
In a similar situation to last season, Caley Thistle have started off well and find themselves at the top of the table.
They held on to a position around the top three until after Christmas, when form and cup runs saw them slip down the table to finish in fifth.
With talk of Europe perhaps distracting one or two last season, Tansey says the club cannot do that if it wants to succeed.
"You don’t pay that much attention to the table but it’s nice to be on top," he said. "If someone gave you the option you’d always rather be there.
"We’re just taking each game as it comes and perform the best we can. We hope that will stand us in good stead.
"We’ve been there and done it and know what it takes. It’s a long season and we’re not going to get carried away. You don’t get ahead of yourselves and start looking to things like Europe.
He added that the team was taking on board what manager John Hughes was asking them to do in training and that they were enjoying the new style of football
"You can see the benefits we’re getting on the pitch," he said. "We’re dominating the ball whoever we play against and thankfully the goals came at the weekend. The more games we play, the more goals we’ll add to that."
