Confirmed: Referee handed Celtic debut as SFA announce officials vs St Johnstone

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The games are coming thick and fast for Celtic as the new season gets well underway.

Next up for Brendan Rodgers’ men is the visit of St Johnstone to Celtic Park on matchday three where the Hoops will be looking to put right the wrongs of Sunday afternoon’s showing against Kilmarnock.

The match takes on extra prominence at the weekend after that defeat and the SFA have announced who will be in control of the 3pm kick-off at Paradise.

The man in the middle is Matthew MacDermid. McDermid has never refereed a match that has involved Celtic. However, he has taken charge of top-flight games for the likes of Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen. [Transfermarkt]

Assisting MacDermid on the touchlines is Ross McLeod and Graeme McNeillie. Looking after the business in the dugout as the fourth official is Chris Fordyce.

In the VAR room, Andrew Dallas takes charge and he will be assisted by Drew Kirkland.

A much-improved performance is required by Celtic

Despite who is in charge of the match, first and foremost, Celtic must look at improving on the performance we witnessed against Kilmarnock on Sunday.

A convincing win will go a long to easing the supporters’ minds on Saturday. Especially with the trip to Ibrox coming up next. Anything less and more pressure will be heaped on Brendan Rodgers and his team.

Which is a weird thing to say just two games into the season. Expectations were high this summer. Celtic had just brought an elite manager to the club and he was inheriting, what could be argued as, one of the strongest squads in a long time.

But performances have not lived up to those expectations and the fans will be keen to see a huge improvement on Saturday.

I have no doubt that this team will come good. Recent injuries have not helped. The international break will be upon us soon and it will give us time to rest and regroup. Rodgers just needs to get through these next two games but with maximum points.

In other news, Callum McGregor explains why Celtic’s old guard will be pivotal in the coming weeks