The Celtic squad had only a matter of hours to savour the 2-1 derby win over Rangers on Saturday before they were back in at Lennoxtown preparing for the next game – an away trip to Paisley this Tuesday (January 2).

It’s the first game of 2024 for Brendan Rodgers’ side, and having signed off the old year with an impressive win over their city rivals, the Hoops want to kick off the new year with a win against St Mirren.

Speaking ahead of the game, Brendan Rodgers said: “We played them earlier on in the season and we had a tough game against them, and Stephen always sets up his teams really well.

“It’s probably be going back to playing against a 5-4-1 or a 5-3-2, so we have to do what we did against Livingston and Dundee and probe and play at speed. But we’re very hungry to finish off this period in a really good way.

'We had a midweek game, while Rangers had the clear week to prepare and plan, but we still go out and perform, and it’ll be no different on Tuesday.'

“We were back in on Sunday recovering, training, working, getting our plan ready and then you have to then back it up, and that’s what is important.”

Both Liel Abada and Reo Hatate made a welcome return to the Celtic squad at the weekend, with the Israeli internationalist coming on as a substitute in the latter stages of the match against Rangers.

But the Celtic manager emphasised that he won’t rush either player as they make their way back after lengthy injury lay-offs.

“At this stage of the season, you’re looking at physical condition and what the players can bring,” he said.

“I’m not in any rush with those two (Abada and Hatate). It was nice for them to be involved – Liel is slightly ahead of Reo, so that’s why he got his minutes on Saturday.

“We’ve got one more game and then we’ve got a period of time to get them up to speed, but I don’t need to rush them.”

Manager: We want to sign off for winter break with positive result in Paisley