TERRY Butcher has promised Celtic "one hell of a game" this weekend - and he's determined to extend Caley Thistle's run and end the Hoops' treble charge.
The country's two form teams meet at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium on Saturday when the explosive William Hill Scottish Cup fifth round tie kicks off at 12.45pm.
Neil Lennon's SPL leaders have stormed ahead of Rangers in recent months with some startling form - they have won their last 12 league matches - and their two Scottish Cup clashes to reach this Highland showdown.
Celtic last failed to win a domestic game on October 29 when they drew 0-0 with Hibernian. Their last defeat against Scottish opponents was when Hearts beat them 2-0 on October 2 at Tynecastle.
The last team to beat the Glasgow side in any competition was Atletico Madrid in the Europa League on November 30.
Celtic are one point clear of Rangers with a game in hand and, on Sunday, beat Falkirk 3-1 to line-up a League Cup final against Kilmarnock in March. Celtic fans are hoping the treble can become a reality.
Those stats alone would strike fear into the hearts of most managers - but not Caley Thistle boss Butcher.
And, you can see why.
Fewer teams have struck fear into Celtic hearts over the years than the Caley Jags.
Famous Scottish Cup wins over Celtic in 2000 and 2003 and a title-defining victory over the Hoops last year, which handed Rangers the baton in the race for the SPL crown are still sharp reminders to the visitors of the threats of Inverness CT.
Add to that the fact Caley Thistle are in their best form of the season. They've gone seven straight games without defeat and, despite shuffling the pack at the back, they've not lost a goal in their last three SPL games.
Butcher was in confident mood when he spoke to the Highland News about one of the biggest games of the season.
He said: "We want to progress in this competition, so this is a game we can't wait for. We always give the Old Firm a hard game, especially up here, and Celtic will know they are in for a very difficult match against us.
"Celtic are on an excellent run, but all runs come to an end and we're determined it won't be ours.
"We've worked extraordinarily hard to get to this point and we're not going to turn up and let the occasion beat us.
"We enjoy coming up against top international players like Celtic have, but we've shown over the years that this is not a game we're afraid of, it's one to relish."
The added spice comes from the fact that the 2-0 SPL defeat at home to Celtic in mid-November came amid the controversy of ICT midfielder Greg Tansey's red card, which later proved to be a mistake by whistler Stevie O'Reilly .
Tansey challenged Celtic's Georgios Samaras and the ref sent him off for using an elbow as the Greek forward hit the deck. The red card, amid fury from Butcher, was overturned but it was too late in terms of salvaging the result.
The first half incident came when Caley Thistle were more than holding their own and the game was gripped at 0-0.
Butcher said this week: "That red card after 36 minutes changed the game because we were playing very well, so that again showed how well we can perform against the Old Firm.
"There's no reason why - if we can keep 11 players on the pitch - we can give Celtic one hell of a match on Saturday and, hopefully, we can get through to the next round of the competition."
A week on Saturday, in the SPL, Caley Thistle make the trip to Celtic Park, but for now the cup is all that matters.
