St Mirren V Celtic at St Mirren Park : Match Preview

02 April 2015 16:01
St Mirren V Celtic - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.


Tesselaar hoping for Hoops result

St Mirren defender Jereon Tesselaar started the season thinking any point gained from Celtic would be a bonus - now he says it is imperative.

The rock-bottom Buddies have just eight games left to save their Scottish Premiership future.

They sit four points behind Motherwell in the play-off zone and seven behind 10th place Ross County.

But that gap could widen if they do not pull off a major shock by toppling the league-leading Hoops in Paisley on Friday night.

However, Tesselaar admits the Buddies cannot afford to lose any of their remaining matches - even against Ronny Deila's champions-elect.

The Dutch full-back said: "These last eight games will be like cup finals for us. We need to treat this Friday's match like that.

"I know St Mirren won against Celtic a couple of years ago in the League Cup semi-final. Kilmarnock won against them in the final the year before, so that shows everything is possible - even against Celtic.

"The last time I managed to beat them was two years ago with Kilmarnock. Cillian Sheridan and Liam Kelly both scored.

"If we want to do the same again we have to work our socks off for the entire 90 minutes.

"Every team in Scotland has quality, especially us. I know what our quality is - but it is not only quality you need, especially against Celtic. You need to work really, really hard.

"Before the season you say every point against them is a bonus but now it is different. We are in a different position now and we need every point we can get.

"We still have to play Motherwell and Ross County twice and those games are massive for us. They need to win, we need to win.

"We're not giving this up as a lost cause - it's going to be a battle for these last eight games."

St Mirren boss Gary Teale has no fresh injuries for the clash. Defender Marc McAusland is still struggling with his knee while midfielder Isaac Osbourne is out long term after ankle surgery.

Meanwhile, Virgil van Dijk believes he is continuing to make progress at Celtic.

Speculation about the Dutchman's future has been persistent since the early days of his Celtic career but manager Ronny Deila insisted on Wednesday that the defender would stay at Parkhead to help the club in their Champions League qualification quest.

Van Dijk is still awaiting a Holland breakthrough, a situation which might make some players yearn to play in a higher-profile league. But the 23-year-old insists he is focused on helping Celtic win the domestic treble while improving as an individual.

Van Dijk said: "I think I have made a lot of progress but I also made big expectations from a lot of people around Celtic who judge.

"At Celtic there is always pressure and I'm a regular starter so there is expectation but there was a lot of speculation in the summer that I wanted to leave So, everybody was not so positive around me.

"But I just enjoy playing here. I'm only 23, I'm learning every day. I want to get the maximum out of myself, I want to be a better player and a better human being as well.

"When the season is going on or even if the transfer window is open, I am just focusing on Celtic, I close everything else off. I enjoy every day here. Hopefully we are going to win the treble, and that's something we should enjoy."

When asked what it would take to tempt him to leave, Van Dijk said: "It's difficult to say. Every player wants to develop but I know Celtic is an amazing club, a very big club, and you don't want to leave Celtic for a lesser club.

"Until the time is there I just want to talk about Celtic and nothing else. I will see what happens in the summer but as it looks right now, I am still here."

The former Groningen player, who is almost halfway through a four-year contract, added: "I'm not in a rush but if the opportunity is there, you never know because it's football. But I am just focusing on Celtic, winning the treble."

Anthony Stokes and full-back Adam Matthews are available again for the game.

Stokes is back after suspension and Matthews will return from an ankle injury, while Nir Bitton played 90 minutes for Israel in their defeat by Belgium on Tuesday despite ankle concerns.



Charlie Mulgrew (hamstring tendon) and Mikael Lustig (ankle) are still not ready to return while Liam Henderson joined Rosenborg on loan this week.


Source: PA