Mark O’Hara insists a clash with the reigning champions on Sunday could be exactly what St Mirren need after their false start to the new year.
The Buddies complete a festive frenzy of four Premiership games in the space of just 11 days by travelling to the east end of Glasgow to face Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers’ runaway table-toppers are still smarting after a shock 3-0 defeat to Rangers in Thursday’s Old Firm derby at Ibrox.
Saints, meanwhile, were on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline at the hands of Kilmarnock as they stretched their winless league record at Rugby Park to 11-and-a-half years.
Boss Stephen Robinson has demanded a response from his team in one of Scottish football’s toughest environments and skipper O’Hara – who has returned after a thigh injury – believes the challenge of Celtic may bring out the best in his Buddies.
The 29-year-old midfielder, who scored a double on the final day of last season in a 3-2 defeat at Celtic Park, said: “We’ve been there in previous years and played well. We’ve got results and we’re getting close to results.
“We know we need to do our best to get anything and it might be a game that suits us going there. We’re going to need our best on Sunday. I don’t think [the Old Firm derby defeat] will really affect anything too much.
“We know that if we focus on ourselves, we will have a game plan. To get anything from the game we will need to be at our best – if it’s Celtic at 100 per cent or 80 per cent.
“So, I don’t think we’ll take too much from that game but it’s one we need to be ready for. It may be a game that takes the pressure off a wee bit and maybe that’s what we’ll need after a game like Kilmarnock.
“I don’t think many people outwith the changing room will give us much of a chance. It might be a game that suits us.”
O’Hara insists there will be no hangover following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Killie and Dundee. Instead, he believes Saints’ festive campaign – which kicked off with a Boxing Day win at home to Gers – is an example of the way things can be in the Premiership.
“This season is a bit of a rollercoaster,” the captain said. “We’ve seen real highs and lows. It’s going to be like that throughout the season.
“The games come so thick and fast and it’s important not to get too down. We are still fifth and we’ve got some more exciting games coming up.”
Premiership clubs don’t have a winter break this term and, having been sidelined since mid-December, that suits O’Hara just fine. He added: “We want to be at the top end of the table. We have a massive opportunity.”
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