Ange Postecoglou is confident that despite being six points ahead of the Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, he will have no complacency from the Celtic players.
The Celtics came from behind to beat the old arch-rivals Rangers 2-1 last weekend to move further away from their nearest rivals, ending the title race.
But Postecoglo insisted that if he had this mentality in his squad, it would be immediately clear as he prepares for the St Johnstone tour this weekend.
“I’ve got 24 or 25 people who are desperate to play, desperate to get involved, desperately want to contribute,” Postecoglo said.
“You can’t roll up for training and think about anything else, no matter who you are. Training will not allow it, players will not allow it themselves, they are increasing their limitations every day.
“We want to play our best football at this time of year, no matter who we are against, and that is our ambition.
“If this kind of thinking comes to anyone, they will go backwards and they will be really different in this environment. No one is doing that right now. “
His time at the PostecoGlover club had a rocky start, having lost three of their first six top-flight fixtures, but they have now caught their eye on another domestic treble this season.
Asked if it was a problem for his players to focus on the task at hand rather than what they could do in the next few months, the Australian was unequivocal in his response.
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“If I had to think about these things now, we wouldn’t be in this position,” he said.
“Maybe I’m not a great barometer of mood swings, I keep to myself – maybe they’re partying there, I don’t know, maybe they have disco balls and they’re dancing around. Impossible, I’ll say.
“After six rounds we knew we had to be perfect. If we were worried about the outcome of the game or looking too far ahead, we would have pulled ourselves together better now.
Celtic will look to take another step towards winning the league title against their opponents fighting for survival.
The 11th-placed Centurion have gained seven points from their last three matches, but have lost all three to Celtic this season and are unbeaten in 22 attempts against table-toppers.
Kyogo Furuhashi has not been seen since the win over St. Johnstone on Boxing Day
Postekoglu added, “We go into every game thinking that the opponent is going to be their best.”
“We didn’t go there thinking that they would be more desperate for this game than next week. Once you prepare yourself that way it means our focus changes.
“At this stage of the season, every game has got an edge, regardless of who you are playing against. Do we know that if we do our best, it will be difficult for us to stop? “
The manager has confirmed that striker Kyogo Furuhashi will be “100 per cent” available for Saturday’s game while James Forrest is out due to a leg muscle injury.
