St Johnstone standing between Celtic and place in the record books

Steven Anderson says corners will be key in clash against Celtic

Becoming a greater threat at set-pieces is an important part of St Johnstone’s quest to rediscover their goalscoring touch, according to defender Steven Anderson.

The Perth side have gone five games without hitting the back of the net. If they are to stop five becoming six against Celtic this afternoon, taking advantage of corners will be key.

“We have tightened up at the back recently but we need to find that cutting edge and be better with the final ball,” said the veteran centre-back. “We are getting into some great areas. “We also have to be better at corners. These offer a great chance to get the ball into the box and get a goal.

“We get plenty corners but we aren’t scoring enough goals. I include myself, it’s not just about the strikers. We have to get on to knock-downs and get scrappy goals.”

Celtic have been unbeatable in domestic football for well over a calendar year but, when the two sides last met, Saints came close to becoming the first Scottish side to inflict defeat on Brendan Rodgers’ team.

“We have to take confidence out of the last game with them when we got a draw,” said Anderson.

“I know we were only 11 minutes away from winning but they hit the woodwork and we did have to hang on for the point.

“They steamrollered us and we rode our luck and Alan Mannus had some great saves. You need that to take anything against Celtic. But we had something to hang on to and hopefully it’s the same this time around.

“We were the last team to beat Celtic, here in Perth. They made a couple of mistakes and we took full advantage.

“We have beaten them a few times in recent years but you can’t compare this team with previous ones. This is basically a free hit for us.

“It’s a great run they are on. They deserve credit for doing it week in, week out.

“Everyone is writing us off but we are quietly confident in the dressing room that we can get something at home.

“There will come a time when Celtic do lose, and hopefully it is against us,” he said.

“We will probably sit off them and try to break on Celtic.

“But there will be press and maybe give them a false sense of security. Look at our goal at Parkhead, when Craig Gordon was trying to play out from the back. That gave us something to hold on to.”

Anderson’s red card against Rangers cost him his place in the following weekend’s line-up against Hearts.

Had it not been for injury to his replacement Liam Gordon, the spell on the sidelines would have lasted longer.

“Liam came in and did well against Hearts, as I would have expected,” he said.

“There are a few good younger players coming through and they will get the experience they need eventually. It’s just a matter of time.

“There’s competition for my place but that has always been the case here.”

Celtic’s midweek performance against Bayern Munich didn’t tell Anderson and his McDiarmid Park team-mates anything they didn’t already know.

“We saw what they did to Aberdeen recently and they are the second-best team in the league,” he said. “Aberdeen couldn’t get near them.

“It shows the gulf that’s there in quality, finances and resources. It’s bigger now than at any time in my career.

Tommy Wright has several injury doubts.

Brian Easton and Chris Millar are definitely out, while Murray Davidson, Stefan Scougall and Michael O’Halloran could also be absent.