Celtic captain Scott Brown has called on his teammates to show their mental strength by defeating Dundee United in Sunday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final at Tannadice.

The Glasgow side suffered a surprise home defeat to St Johnstone on Wednesday night but Brown says they must now show that was a “hiccup”.

Ronny Deila’s side are chasing a domestic treble and Sunday’s opponents United have got two chances to end that dream in the next seven days.

After their Scottish Cup meeting on Tayside, the teams will meet again at Hampden Park next Sunday in the League Cup Final.

Brown believes the defeat to St Johnstone must count for nothing when Celtic cross the white line at Tannadice.

“Every team in the world has that performance in them. If you look at Barcelona there is always a wee hiccup here and there, but it’s about your character and how you bounce back and we are strong enough in that dressing room to bounce back from anything,” he told the Celtic website.

Celtic are installed as 1.42 favourites to defeat Dundee United (5.76) with the draw at 4.44 on Sunday.

The Hoops were defeated 2-1 by Jackie McNamara’s side on their previous visit to Tannadice in December.

With Celtic currently six points clear of Aberdeen in the league, Brown admits the fact that the St Johnstone defeat did not dent the treble bid is a blessing.

“We want to win every game and the St Johnstone game was a slight hiccup, and we are lucky enough it was in the league,” the Celtic skipper added.