The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Good time to play Hoops, insists Booth
Full-back buoyed by Saints’ good form as they bid to heap more cup misery on Celtic
St Johnstone are in great shape as they aim to inflict a second successive cup shock on Celtic.
Saints host the Hoops at McDiarmid Park tomorrow in the quarter-final of the William Hill Scottish Cup and the visitors will still be reeling from their Europa League loss to FC Copenhagen at Celtic Park on Thursday night.
That stunning 3-1 home leg defeat to the Danes has left Neil Lennon’s men at risk of back-to-back cup exits when they travel to Perth. Of course, it would be an incredible achievement for Tommy Wright’s men should they pull it off.
Indeed, the St Johnstone manager has been insisting it is still very much a David versus Goliath fixture.
However, full-back Callum Booth, who will come in for Celtic loan player Anthony Ralston as he can’t play against his parent club, thinks Saints are well placed to give it a real go.
They have just drawn 2-2 at home with Rangers to make it a run of only two defeats in 15 games.
They are also unbeaten in six since Celtic defeated them 3-0 in the league at the end of January.
Booth said: “If there ever is a good time to play Celtic it is now when we are on a good run. The last time we played them it was disappointing but we have a chance to put that right.
“The form we are in just now is really good and we are playing with a bit of confidence. It is a game we are all looking forward to. It is our chance to try to stop them.
“We are playing well and I think we have every chance.”
Booth insisted that his head didn’t go down when the draw paired them with the Premiership leaders, even though he knows how tough it will be tomorrow. “It is what it is,” he said of the draw. “It throws up hard games from time to time. The two previous draws have given us Championship teams, so that was quite favourable to us and we managed to get through them.
“Now it’s Celtic and it is all about trying to put on a good performance – certainly better than last time we played them.
“We got blown away in the first half that day but we can take confidence from what was a good performance against Rangers out there.”
As if facing Celtic’s collective firepower wasn’t enough, Booth is likely to be handed the individual responsibility of marking James Forrest.
The Hoops winger has scored no fewer than six times at McDiarmid Park over the last two seasons, including a four-goal haul in October 2018.
That he needs to be watched closely is an understatement, to say the least, but in Booth the Perth men have someone who knows his opponent very well.
Booth said: “I have known James for a number of years and played with him for Scotland Under-19s all the way through to the 21s.
“We were in various squads together, going here, there and everywhere.
“You could tell he was a player even back then. We did have good sides with a lot of good players but James always had such great talent and pace over the first five yards.
“He is quite quiet off the pitch and a really nice guy. We have stayed in touch.
“It is a tough task to play against him but I have done it a few times over the years now.
“Obviously, he is a top, top player. He had a little tough spell at Celtic but he came through it and has gone from strength to strength.
“In fact, he has been one of the best players in the country for many years now. Hopefully, I will know his strength and weaknesses.”
Booth was asked how he had fared against Forrest over the years.
He joked: “I think he scored a hat-trick
when I played against Partick but we won’t mention that!
“To be honest, he makes himself a striker sometimes, so maybe we weren’t in direct opposition.
“Seriously, I have had a few good battles with James over the years. He is a very dangerous player but I do hope I come up against him on Sunday.”
Meanwhile, Booth revealed he is happy to put thoughts of his future to one side at the moment.
He said: “Nothing has been said and there haven’t been any discussions. It has been good here the last few months because the team has been doing well. I have enjoyed it.
“You never know what can happen in football but it is still relatively early.”