St Johnstone fixture could offer Celtic more pitch troubles; unlikely to faze squad

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The winter months always prove to be the busiest and arguably most important periods in the Scottish Premiership season.

Celtic and all the other Scottish Premiership sides have faced fixture schedules, particularly with the World Cup taking place in late 2022.

Of course, there are challenges that come with a busy fixture schedule, such as injury issues and keeping your squad rested.

But there are also some challenges which are almost outwith the control of Ange Postecoglou and his coaching staff, and that is how pitches are affected by the Scottish weather.

Pitches are a big talking point across the Scottish Premiership, from some pristine surfaces to auto-turf pitches at Livingston.

In recent months, we have seen several grounds, including Hampden Park, struggle to deal with the rain, which ends up affecting the playing surface.

The Bhoys’ trip to Hampden last month proved to be a difficult outing, as Ange Postecoglou’s side came through the Viaplay Cup semi-final against Kilmarnock in some dreadful conditions.

This weekend, we could see a similar type of game as the Hoops travel to McDiarmid Park to take on St Johnstone.

During the Saints Scottish Cup tie with Rangers just over a week ago, which was live on Viaplay Sports, it was visible how difficult both teams found the playing surface.

St Johnstone boss Callum Davidson even briefly touched on the difficulties that the pitch can offer, on BBC Sportsound last night following his team’s victory over Motherwell at Fir Park.

Celtic squad have shown they are more than capable of dealing with difficult playing surfaces.

Given that St Johnstone’s last fixture on their home surface will be over a week since their fixture against Rangers in the Scottish Cup, it is unclear exactly what condition it will be in.

However, it would take a lot of work from the ground staff over the last seven/eight days to improve it after some terrible weather in Scotland.

Although it is bound to make Sunday’s game another tough outing, it isn’t exactly a new task for Ange Postecoglou and his players.

They have regularly had to deal with difficult grass or astro parks and have come through those tests with flying colours. So the Celtic manager will be hoping for more of the same this weekend.

It certainly won’t be ideal for either team, and it could affect the quality of football that is on display, depending on the pitch’s condition.

However, you are unlikely to find anyone within that Celtic Park dressing room looking to make excuses. Their firm focus is on picking up all three points.

In other news, The origins of Ange Postecoglou and Michael Beale “lucky” chat as Celtic Park DJ gets involved.