Steven MacLean and St Johnstone eye scalp of 'transformed' Celtic
St Johnstone will try to end the unbeaten run of a Celtic side that striker Steven MacLean believes have been "transformed" this season.
The runaway Ladbrokes Premiership leaders travel to Perth for Sunday's McDiarmid Park clash, without a loss in 28 domestic matches since the start of the season.
The Parkhead club's last defeat in Scottish football came in Perth on May 11, 2016, when MacLean scored in the 2-1 home win against a Hoops side who were already champions.
Saints lost 1-0 to Celtic at Parkhead just over a week ago, with the Parkhead men winning 4-2 at McDiarmid Park earlier in the season.
Celtic have now won 18 successive league games and MacLean believes they have markedly changed since Brendan Rodgers took over from Ronny Deila in the summer. However he is relishing the prospect of bringing their impressive run of form to a halt.
"It is a changed team, they are much more dynamic now and their performances this season have proved that," said the 34-year-old attacker who scored the only goal of the game against Partick Thistle at Firhill in midweek.
"We are under no illusions, it will be very difficult. They are undefeated all season for a reason.
"Brendan Rodgers has transformed the team and he has added a couple of players as well, they are a really good side.
"They have goals all over the pitch, they are not one-dimensional, they score all sorts of goals.
"It will be a difficult game but we will do our own work and come up with a game plan that will give them a good game.
"We are confident. We are a good side who can make things difficult for teams so we will have a good go.
"Any type of result against them would be a good result but obviously with the added bonus of being the first team to beat them, it would be excellent.
"I am not going to lie, it would be great for us to do it.
"They will know they are in for a difficult game.
"We have done well in the past against them so hopefully we can do that on Sunday."
Assistant manager Chris Davies considered recent evidence when he assessed the challenge Celtic face.
With the most recent meeting still fresh in Davies' mind - as well as the 4-2 win at McDiarmid Park earlier in the season - Rodgers' right-hand man praised the Saints boss for getting the best out of his squad as he prepared for another tough encounter.
"I think Tommy maximises the resources he has," said Davies.
"I think they have a great spirit, they have a bit of quality in there and they can be a difficult team to play against.
"We beat them at Celtic Park by a goal but we are away from home this time.
"When we went there earlier in the season, we went ahead early in the game and they fought back.
"That is what they have got, they have a real spirit about them and a mentality and that is an enormous part of being a good team.
"Obviously we analysed the game we played against them and we have got some ideas for the game-plan for this game and we are expecting a difficult game."
Davies insists records are not the topic of discussion among the management team but insists the run of form is to be enjoyed.
He said: "We can only control our own performances.
"Every game is difficult and you have always got to savour the wins.
"They don't just come out of nothing. It is really important to recognise that every single point and win is important."
Source: PAR
