Brendan Rodgers reckons he is ‘expecting a similar game,’ against St Johnstone this afternoon to the Motherwell on Boxing Day…
Celtic extended their lead at the top of the table on Thursday to 12 points after their comprehensive 4-0 victory over Motherwell coupled with theRangers losing in dramatic fashion in Paisley.
Top versus bottom today
It is top versus bottom today with the Hoops’ opponents sitting rock bottom. Simo Valakari’s appointment seemed to have given the Saints an initial boost, but since then St Johnstone have picked up very few points.
With one win in their last nine Premiership fixtures, the signs of top-flight survival look ominous for the McDiarmid Park club as they surpass the half-way mark of the season.
A trip to Celtic Park is the last encounter Valakari’s men would want in a time of hardship. Hearts are two points above the Saints on 16 points with Ross County’s stunning 3-0 win over Dundee at Dens Park on Boxing Day taking the Staggies four clear of their relegation rivals.
READ THIS…Celtic v St Johnstone – Team news, referee details, KO time & where to watch
Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers’ record against St Johnstone over the Irishman’s two spells as manager is impressive. This will be Rodgers’ 17th match against the Perth club having previously won on 13 occasions, drawing three, scoring 47 and conceding on eight occasions.
Celtic won 6-0 in September up in Perth
The two sides met earlier on this season at McDiarmid Park where the three-in-a-row Scottish champions displayed their finest domestic performance of the season thus far winning 6-0 stylishly courtesy of a Kyogo double and Paulo Bernardo, Callum McGregor, Daizen Maeda and Adam Idah all adding to the scoreline.
Looking ahead to this afternoon’s clash, Brendan Rodgers told Celtic TV,: “It’s interesting because I think since the new manager has come in, he’s started off with a diamond whereas recently I’ve seen him more with a 4-4-2.
Might be a similar game
“But I think his ethos is to play football, to take the ball, to pass the ball and create opportunities.”
Rodgers explained: “It’s a quick turnaround from [Thursday]. So, it might be a similar game, maybe a different set-up in terms of the system. But maybe a similar game, similar set-up: be compact and rely on players breaking out.”
“The onus is on us. We want to impose our way, and we’ll prepare now and get ready for that. Bring that freshness and finish the year really well.”
Kick-off in Glasgow’s East End is 3:00pm and is available to watch for subscribers outside Britain and Ireland on Celtic TV.
COYBIG!
Conor Spence
Complacency is a terrible trait to have within a football team.
Luckily we have a manager with a squad of players, who don’t have such a characteristic within them?
Not so lucky myself, as can go into today’s game, with the attitude of thinking only about the margin of victory today.
Easy to get carried away and looking at obstacles further down the track, and not looking at the obstacle in front of you, that can easily trip you up, if not focused properly?
So potentially a bigger test for our support moreso than our players today, especially when patience will be in short supply, against another back to the walls and anti football display expected from the saints?
We get our tempo and movement right today and we are capable of producing another big victory?
We needed that performance against murderwell, to restore the confidence and belief within our squad, and can see that happening yet again today?
Might have to keep myself in check also,especially as frustrations and criticism can grow very quickly, if things shouldn’t go quite to plan early doors for ourselves all the same?