Saintees’ Ando out to repeat shock feat
STEVEN ANDERSON has witnessed a growing chasm in class between Celtic and the rest.
The deposed St Johnstone skipper recalls a 2-1 win at Perth 18 months ago when Ronny Deila was in charge of the Hoops.
But that was the last time the champions lost to opposition on the home front and Celtic are out to seal a UK unbeaten record of 63 matches at Perth.
Veteran defender Anderson, who has been relieved of the club captaincy by manager Tommy Wright to focus on his own game, is amazed that Deila’s successor, Brendan Rodgers, remains unbeaten on league duty.
But he reckons they have raised the bar with stand-out displays against Aberdeen and Bayern Munich.
Anderson said: “I thought Celtic did really well against Bayern but I was expecting that at home against a big European team. I thought they’d be right at it and were unlucky.
“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.
“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.
“But we saw what they did to Aberdeen and they are the second best team in the league. Aberdeen couldn’t get near them.
“It shows the gulf that’s there in quality, finances and resources. It’s bigger than any time in my career.
“You look at them against Bayern Munich this week. They had Leigh Griffiths sitting on the bench and he’s Scotland’s best striker.”