STEPHEN Welsh has insisted the Parkhead club can enjoy a memorable 2023/24 campaign and called on his Celtic team mates to make one final push for silverware when play resumes after the international break.
Centre half Welsh helped the defending Scottish champions to defeat struggling St Johnstone 3-1 at home on Saturday and jump a point above Rangers and into top spot in the cinch Premiership table.
Rangers have a game in hand still to play after their encounter with Dundee was postponed yesterday due to a waterlogged pitch at Dens Park – but the defender remains optimistic about their future prospects with eight league matches remaining.
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He knows Celtic, who performed well at the weekend and would have won by a greater margin had it not been for St Johnstone keeper Dimitar Mitov, can lift the Premiership and Scottish Gas Scottish Cup trophies if they win all of their remaining fixtures.
Welsh is keen for Brendan Rodgers’ team to pick up where they left off on Saturday when they take on Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena on Sunday week and maintain their performance levels during the run-in.
“It was mentioned before the St Johnstone game that we’ve got the break coming up so we need to put ourselves in a good position going into the last few games of the season” he said.
“It’s been up and down for us this season. We’ve not been fully firing, but we’re still in a good position. We’ve put in a good performance, got a good win over St Johnstone and that’ll see us into the next few games. It is a big push from everyone.
“We have always believed in ourselves. That doesn’t change. We don’t listen to any outside noise. The only people who can control what happens are in the changing room.
“We train every day and we come out on a match day and give absolutely everything to the club to win and perform well. It gives us a good pedestal to push on now.
“We don’t need favours. All we are thinking about is winning the next game which is Livingston away. Then we go on again and we will see where it takes us.”
READ MORE: Celtic 3 St Johnstone 1: Defending Scottish champions leapfrog Rangers into top spot
Welsh added: “We are still fighting for two trophies. We are in a semi-final against Aberdeen and we are very much looking forward to that when it comes. We are fighting on all fronts and it will take one big push from us. We are really looking forward to it. It is exciting to be involved.
“I think we have experience in the team as well. We were obviously very successful in the last couple of seasons and the vast majority of the players are still here. We have got the experience of going and winning things so hopefully we can use that as well.
“It is massive. It is a mentality thing as well going into the last few games of the season. Obviously the gaffer was here before and was very successful first time. He knows what it takes to do it as well.
“We are just taking it one game at a time. We have got a good break now and we can recover and get some good training in. Then we can push on.”
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