Craig Gordon insists Dundee United’s Ryan McGowan will revel in his role as Public Enemy No 1 at Celtic Park on Saturday. Speaking as the clubs prepare to meet for the fourth time in a fortnight, the Parkhead goalkeeper played down talk of a running feud after the tally of red cards rose to six in three games during Wednesday night’s ill-tempered Scottish Cup replay. Celtic striker Anthony Stokes was dismissed just moments before McGowan’s sending off for an uncompromising challenge on Liam Henderson, which was later dubbed ‘dangerous’ and ‘career-threatening’ by Ronny Deila. Goalkeeper Craig Gordon has played down talk of a running feud with Dundee United . However, the Australian international will play in Saturday’s SPFL clash after appealing his red card – and is certain to face a hostile reception from the Parkhead crowd. A former Hearts club-mate of the full-back, however, Gordon believes McGowan will be unfazed, saying: ‘I know Ryan, and he will probably enjoy it. ‘He’s that type of boy. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he goes out and gives 100 per cent. ‘If it is the case he is booed, I don’t think he will be overawed by that. ‘He was in the youth team when I was at Hearts. I never played with him. But I knew of him coming through. ‘It is something he will have to deal with, and I am sure he will. ‘But, as far as the players are concerned, there is nothing in that. We will just concentrate on ourselves.’ Ryan McGowan is sent off by referee Calum Murray after he scythed down Celtic sub Liam Henderson . McGowan used Twitter to apologise to Henderson in the aftermath of the game, but angered Celtic supporters by appealing a red card many believed to be clear-cut. ‘He likes a tackle,’ added Gordon. ‘He has no problem with that. ‘Perhaps he maybe just lost the head for a split second with the way the games have been going. ‘And that’s a difficult thing to actually put up with if you are losing a couple of games to the same opposition and somebody is trying a bit of skill to beat you in the corner. ‘It takes a lot to keep a calm head. But both sets of players are going to have to do that to make sure we keep a full complement of players on the pitch. ‘There is nothing there in terms of between the players. But, during the 90 minutes, both teams want to win desperately.’ McGowan took to social media again yesterday to refer indirectly to the furore, Tweeting: ‘Heard it’s very “dangerous” possibly “career threatening” for ur eyes to watch the eclipse without glasses! Lucky I have mine with me.’ No fan of Twitter, Gordon insists he hadn’t seen it, but grinned: ‘He has always been a confident lad, and that has probably helped him. ‘Hearts fans still hold him in very high regard, probably just as much for his Twitter account as for his football. Deila celebrates at full-time as his side reached the Scottish Cup semi-finals with a 4-0 victory . ‘But, that’s just part and parcel of modern football, I suppose.’ Playing down predictions of more red cards or settled scores as Celtic seek to keep Aberdeen at bay in the title race, Gordon dismissed talk of a feud between the two sets of players. ‘I don’t think so,’ he said. ‘Fortunately, I’ve not been involved in any of the incidents. ‘Our players have been fine after the games. There’s not really been anything too much. ‘There have been a few isolated incidents on the pitch. But I don’t think there has been anything beyond that, certainly not from my point of view. ‘It’s up to us as players to keep it under control and make sure we are pointing our aggression in the right way and keeping a lid on it. ‘It’s the fourth game and it will probably form a similar pattern, in that we will have to win the battle if we are going to win the game.’ United midfielder Paul Paton, accused of using an elbow on Stokes before the Celtic striker’s red card on Wednesday, turned up the heat by suggesting the Parkhead side have been ‘manipulating’ referees for years. Responding by pointing to the leniency shown towards Calum Butcher and Nadir Ciftci by the SFA, however, Gordon said: ‘Maybe there were times when decisions went against us at Hearts. But I can’t think there was ever a time where I thought that was the case. ‘I didn’t tend to think that way. ‘United had a few decent decisions in the last few games, as well, so if they want to start bringing up one incident against the other, there’s so many talking points in the last couple of games, whether it be sending offs or penalties. ‘There is a case to be made for a number of decisions going opposite ways for both sides.’
Celtic face Dundee United for fourth time in a fortnight on Saturday . Six players have been sent off in last three meetings between teams . Ryan McGowan was dismissed for rash challenge on Liam Henderson .