And Derry chairman, Pat McDaid, confirmed last night that "The Bhoys" had no intention of letting themselves down when they visit on Tuesday, October 7th next, the game arranged as part of Paddy McCourt's transfer to the SPL giants a few months ago.

In fact, Mr. McDaid was invited over to Parkhead as a guest of Celtic chief executive, Mr. Peter Lawwell, for the recent 'Old Firm' derby game against Rangers and it was during that visit that further discussions opened in relation to the clash at Brandywell.

"I was delighted to have received an invitation from Mr. Lawwell to attend the derby game and, obviously, while there I had discussions in relation to our game at the Brandywell which will celebrate our club's 80th anniversary," declared the chairman.
"As part of Paddy McCourt's

transfer, it was agreed that Celtic would travel to Brandywell for two games, the first of which will take place on October 7th and in that contract it is clearly stated that Celtic would be represented by the strongest team available.

"Mr. Lawwell assured me that his club would honour that agreement and while he couldn't give any indication at this stage as regards which players would travel, he insisted that the Celtic first team would be well represented," added Mr. McDaid.

"Celtic also assured me that they were delighted that the game would be at the centre of Derry's anniversary celebrations and he acknowledged his club's strong support base in the North-West and in Donegal.

"The club will have a two weeks break from domestic football at the time of our game due to international matches," continued the chairman. "On the Saturday after our match at Brandywell, the first of the international games will be staged with another series of games the following Saturday.

"Most clubs, therefore, will not be releasing their players until mid-week before the Saturday and that's why we agreed the date in the first place.
"Provided he's fit, we're hopeful that Paddy McCourt will represent Celtic and with Aiden McGeady not expected in Dublin until the following week for the game against Cyprus, we're also excited that he could be coming.

"Other players such as Artur Boruc, Shunsuke Nakamura, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Massimo Donati, Georgios Samaras, Bobo Balde will be expected to be involved provided they are not injured at that time.

"Obviously, I couldn't get definite starters as much will depend on injuries at that time but I've been told that we will face a strong Celtic team and, understandably, Celtic do not wish to diminish our 80th celebrations by sending over a 'select' or youth's side to play us."

Meanwhile, with Derry having already sold 2,000 tickets for the game - both seated accommodation and ground tickets - Mr. McDaid has high hopes that a capacity attendance will watch the match.

"We're now coming under pressure from sources outside Derry to release Celtic tickets to them, but our priority has always been to offer them to our supporters first and foremost. We've received requests from Donegal branches of the Celtic Supporters Club and, more recently, from clubs based in Sligo, Belfast and Newry. Therefore, I would appeal to anyone from the North-West area who wishes to attend the game, to purchase their tickets as soon as possible from our local outlets.

"We will make the tickets available to outside requests within the next week, but as a community club, we would prefer to facilitate the local community first," he insisted.

The chairman also highlighted the importance of the local community supporting the event. "We want the local community to come out in force and support the club at this particular game. We're celebrating 80 years in existence and to play our celebration game against Celtic will, we hope, prove to be a memorable occasion.

"Naturally, we would hope to have a capacity attendance at the match and while I appreciate that we also had tickets out for Finn Harps, Glentoran and Linfield matches, the Celtic match is a major fund-raiser for the club. The finance generated will go towards keeping a full-time team on the pitch at the Brandywell.

"It's a huge game for us and while we've sold 2,000 tickets already, I'm hopeful that at least double that number will be there on the night.
"Celtic have no intention of letting themselves down, they boast a big support in the north-west area and they see this as an opportunity for those fans to come and see them and, at the same time, help Derry City Football Club which, of course, they have done in the past," he concluded.