BRENDAN RODGERS has urged his Celtic players to mark their own place in the club’s history by continuing their unbeaten run.
Tonight’s 1-0 triumph over St Johnstone – courtesy of a Dedryck Boyata header – means the Hoops are unbeaten in 26 domestic matches, equalling the record set by Jock Stein’s Lisbon Lions half-a-century ago.
Rodgers said: “We have to keep pushing and try to set the record as high as we can.
“To match a record of over 50 years, when you think of the players and teams who have played here, it’s a massive credit to the players and how they’ve worked.
“If you’d asked them that six months ago when we started together, they would probably have thought we’re way off the mark, but they’ve done it.
“It’s through their professionalism, their work, setting the standards every day in training and we cannot finish here.”
Celtic can break the record if they remain undefeated against Hearts in Glasgow on Sunday afternoon and the Irishman admitted that he challenged his squad at the start of the season to set new standards.
He said: “It’s the next game and we focus on our performance, everything comes from that.
“You perform well, you play well, then there’s a consequence to that: you make history.
“That’s what we said when we came in, break records, win trophies, be the best that we can be.
“We should tip our hat to the players, they’ve been brilliant and I’m very proud of them.”
Celtic had to remain patient against a well-organised St Johnstone outfit.
It took a header from Belgian defender Boyata in the 72nd minute to secure the victory on the night Scott Brown played his 400th game for the club.
The Hoops gaffer added: “The performance overall was very good. We had created good chances and a mixture of our final pass, the final connection and great defending by St Johnstone made it tighter than we would have hoped.
“I always believe that we can score. It came from a set-piece. I’m pleased for Dedryk Boyata, he attacks the ball really well, he’s aggressive, it’s a brilliant header.
“It’s great credit to my coaching staff, as well, Chris Davies and John Kennedy, they do a lot of work on the set-pieces, being creative and one of them paid off tonight.”
