Strachan has sympathy for Mowbray as media glare gets to Parkhead manager

Celtic head for today's Active Nation Scottish Cup quarter-final tie at Kilmarnock lying 13 points behind Clydesdale Bank Premier League leaders Rangers and knowing that the cup probably offers their only chance of glory this season. After weeks of media attention on Mowbray, the former Hibernian and West Brom manager snapped at the pre-match press conference on Thursday when he accused the press of "spin".

Middlesbrough counterpart Strachan picked up six trophies in a four-year reign at Parkhead when he followed the equally successful O'Neill and believes the internet has added to the pressures that his successor is currently having to endure.

"It's only Martin O'Neill and myself who can truly empathise with the Celtic manager because the internet and other outlets now are so huge and varied," he said. "It's maybe only since Martin's time in charge that it has got to be this huge monster. There are things which happen on the internet and in the media, and you have no real answer to them. You just have to sit back and accept it's there. There's no-one to sue a lot of the time.

"I would never go anywhere near this stuff. But it's not actually you that reads it on the internet, it's the media who see it there. They then bring things to the fore, leaving you to ask: 'Where did that come from?'

"As Celtic manager, you protect yourself by ignoring it. That's all you can do."

Strachan won the SPL title and the Co-operative Insurance Cup in his first season at Parkhead. However, he needs no reminding of the tricky start to his Celtic career. "I know what it can be like right at the start," he said. "We drew 4-4 with Motherwell a few days after losing 5-0 in Bratislava, and I don't know if you can get any lower than that.

"In these moments, as anyone will find, it determines your character as a manager. Early in your career as a player, you will get these moments where you think, this is as low as it gets. But you come back from it. Somehow you get up and go again. You also do that as a manager."

Celtic midfielder Marc Crosas accepts the pressure that comes with playing for a top club. The Spaniard said: "Of course we have the pressure on us but we always have that. When you play for Celtic you have the demand to win all of the games and to win trophies. The way it's been going this season, the cup is maybe the only chance we've got to win a trophy.

"So we will have to try and do our best to get to Hampden." Robbie Keane made his Celtic debut at Rugby Park just after signing on loan from Tottenham. Thanks in part to the good form of goalkeeper Cameron Bell, the forward drew a blank in front of an expectant travelling support, but has since notched five goals to confirm his status as a top-class striker.

"I thought Keane played well against us that night," Kilmarnock assistant manager Jimmy Nicholl said. "He was making runs that the other Celtic players didn't see. But the weeks have gone on and they know him now so we have to be very careful.

But whatever we do against Robbie Keane, we have to do against the player on the ball and Aiden McGeady. There are loads of things we have to do if we are to win this cup tie."