Chris: Our thirst is to stay in first

From Back Page achieved by the club under Willie Maley a century ago.

But assistant boss Davies said: “We have to make sure we stay at the top of the league. That’s our motivation.

“When it comes to the record I think everyone was privately aware it was happening. But we don’t talk about that.

“We’ve had other objectives in terms of getting to the League Cup Final, making sure we’re top of the league and dominating. Europe’s different.

“It won’t be something that’s our single motivation for this game. What’s got us to this point is, ‘Win the next game – focus on that.’ And giving everything and doing your best.

“Hopefully the record is the consequence. That will be our mentality.

“We’re going to a team which has been in the top six for a few years and are still in the top six now and it’s away from home. It’s always going to be a difficult game.”

Saints were the last Scottish side to beat Celts – in April 2016 under former boss Ronny Deila after the title had been sewn up.

Davies admits he has had Maley’s record in his sights for months but the Hoops are not going to stop at 63.

He said: “It would be us stepping past the previous one we’re now joint with. I was aware of it when we equalled the Lisbon Lions one in February. Around 40 odd, I was thinking, ‘Why is no one talking about this?’

“We were still totting them up. It was good that it was a silent thing but I was aware that it kept on progressing.”

Celtic emerged with credit following their narrow defeat to Bayern Munich in midweek but Davies admitted the Hoops will need a different game plan to deal with Saints.

He said: “We will have to find a solution on Saturday because maybe our opponent will not be as dominant on the ball as Bayern were.”