Celtic may have emerged from Sunday’s so-called title decider with another three points, but St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright has been in the game too long to think they will ease off against his men tonight.
Back-to-back high-profile fixtures against Inter Milan and Aberdeen will no doubt have sapped the energy of Ronny Deila’s players, and some punters might well fancy Saints’ chances of causing an upset at Parkhead this evening.
But with so much still at stake and the onus on Celtic to continue building momentum in front of their own fans, Wright simply cannot see the home team’s standards slipping.
“I don’t think Celtic will believe it’s over, no way,” he told Courier Sport.
“They will want to get it won as quickly as possible so there will be no let up.
“Celtic will play their strongest team against us, and they won’t have one eye on the cup games coming up with Dundee United.
“They played their strongest side the last time we faced them and that was before a European game.
“So I’d imagine it will be the same, they’ll want to get our game played then think about Dundee United at the weekend.
“I’m expecting Celtic’s strongest team.”
Wright is under no illusions of the task in front of his players tonight, and believes that his Celtic counterpart Deila has his team playing much better football than perhaps they were nearer the start of the campaign.
“Celtic have improved as the season has progressed and that was always going to be the case because when a new manager comes in it takes time,” he added.
“Ronny has been helped by the quality he inherited and the players he’s brought in like Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven at an important time of the season.
“He’s doing a good job but so are plenty of managers in the league.
“They are on an incredible run but with the squad he’s got you’d expect that.
“The one thing they have done this season is play well after the European games.
“That’s something they struggled with a few seasons back but as a squad they’ve learned how to deal with it.
“A lot of that is mindset because it’s easy to think you’re tired because of travelling, but if you don’t allow yourself to feel like that it’s easier to cope.”