“It’s 89 minutes, it’s 4-0 and they don’t let us breathe,” Simo Valakari | OneFootball

St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari praised Celtic for not letting his side ‘breathe,’ with the Scottish champions sweeping the Saints aside 4-0 yesterday afternoon…

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari arrives at Celtic Park prior to the Scottishl Premiership match between Celtic and St. Johnstone on December 29, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Celtic ended the year exactly how they started it — winning comfortably as St Johnstone struggled to cope with the 90-minute onslaught at Paradise.

Brendan Rodgers’ side extended their lead at the top of the table to a remarkable 14 points after only 18 matches following their closest title ‘challengers’ dropping yet more points, this time at Fir Park.

With Thursday’s Glasgow Derby approaching, the Hoops have one hand on the Premiership trophy, and even a home victory in three days time would not revive any hopes of the title switching hands.

Simo Valakari, Manager of St Johnstone, speaks to Sven Sprangler during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and St. Johnstone at Celtic Park on December 29, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, St Johnstone remain rock bottom. Valakari’s men suffered their 4th straight league defeat and have now won only one Premiership encounter in their last 10.

Ross County’s incredible late fightback in Dingwall versus Neil Critchley’s underperforming Hearts means that the Perth club are three points behind the Jambos in 11th whilst trailing the Staggies by five points.

On the horizon are two home games for St Johnstone and then a trip to Ibrox looms. Unfortunately for St Johnstone, seven of the last nine Premiership clubs who have found themselves bottom of the table at the end of the calendar year have been relegated.

Nicolas Kuhn scores the first goal during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and St. Johnstone at Celtic Park on December 29, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

But, the Saints boss remains confident his players can turn an ominous situation around over the next couple of weeks.

Speaking after the match at Celtic Park Valakari to Saints TV said: “We need to have almost a perfect day, and the opponent needs to play below the bar. Unfortunately for us, it didn’t happen today. Yes, we have a lot of our own problems, and we need to fix them, but sometimes you need to respect the football the opponent plays.”

“It’s 89 minutes, it’s 4-0 and they don’t let us breathe. They just come and come and come. So, if we can learn from the best, it’s very good for our process. So, no disappointment or anything, all players gave something.”

Simo Valakari, Manager of St Johnstone, reacts during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic FC and St. Johnstone FC at Celtic Park on December 29, 2024 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“It’s a very big game [Hibs at home], a very, very big game. We need to somehow, somewhere and as soon as possible to start getting these points. We can’t just think, next opportunity, next opportunity. You need to be strong at home and when you look at our history, we have not been strong at home. That needs to change because we have good fans.”

The former Finnish internationalist explained, “we know how to play there so no excuses. That’s our lifeline – to get points from these home matches coming up and then go on the road and do the same. Sometimes on the road, it’s even easier to play because the pressure is not on you. But these home matches coming up? Yes, we need to use it as well as possible.”

Conor Spence

Celtic in the Thirties by Celtic Historian Matt Corr is published in two volumes by Celtic Star Books.  ORDER NOW WHILE STOCKS LAST!

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