St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson is calling on his side to put in a better defensive display if they have any hope of getting a result against Celtic on Saturday.
The Premiership champions visit McDiarmid Park for the lunchtime kick off.
Both sides tasted defeat in midweek with the Saints going down 2-1 in Kilmarnock, while Ange Postecoglou’s side slumped to a 3-1 loss to RB Leipzig in the Champions League.
Be it on the European stage or in Perth, Davidson expects tomorrow’s opponents to play in the same manner.
No surprises from Celtic
But he hopes his side will be able to take some inspiration from St Mirren, who managed to overcome a seemingly-unbeatable Celtic side last month.
To do that, Davidson is urging his side to start strongly and tighten up at the back with the Saints’ boss still irked by his side’s showing at Rugby Park.
“Celtic have been great, I have watched a lot of their games – the domestic ones and the European games,” he said.
“They play the same way, with a lot of tempo and energy so it’s going to be a tough game.
“You have to start well against them and do the basics well, or it will become a tough afternoon.
“We have to defend better than we did at Kilmarnock and ask questions of Celtic, force them into doing things they don’t want to do.
“You need Celtic to have a bit of an off-day as well.
“I watched the St Mirren game recently and they were fantastic.
“You see Rangers and Celtic in Europe, they have tough games, and all you can do is play the way you believe in and hopefully you get a result from that.”
St Johnstone team news
Davidson hopes to make a couple of changes for tomorrow’s game to freshen up his side after three fixtures in seven days.
However, he may be limited by the number of injuries to his squad.
The good news is that he is boosted by the return of Connor McLennan, while David Weatherspoon could get some minutes.
“We are looking at changes because it’s three games in a week and it’s always the third one you have to look at,” he said.
“We have quite a big injury list so we will have to see who is fit and good to go.
“Dan Philips is back available so he will be involved, which is good news.
“And Tony Gallacher came through the game on Wednesday fine, it was good to get him back out there.
“David Wotherspoon was on the bench at Kilmarnock, it’s great to see him back and he will be involved again.
“Connor McLennan popped his shoulder against Dundee United and probably wasn’t ready to be on the bench, but we put him there for numbers.
“He was a couple of days away from being good to go, so he’s at full fitness now and ready for Celtic.”
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