Motherwell star Blair Spittal says inflicting a first Premiership home defeat on Celtic would be massive, and must believe they can do it.
Ange Postecoglou’s side are sitting 12 points clear of rivals Rangers at the top of the league and Spittal is well aware of how tough a task Motherwell have as they head to Celtic Park on Saturday.
But he says there’s no point in showing up if they don’t believe they can take something from the game.
He said: “If you go there with the belief that’s one part of it. They’ve been on really good form but there’s no point in us turning up expecting to get beat.
“We need to go there with the belief that we can get something.
“The manager will give us our game-plan over the next couple of days, and it’s up to us to execute that.
“It would be massive for us to take something from them. We’ve got really good away form this season, a lot better than it has been here, which is obviously quite disappointing.
“But when we go away from home we need to make sure we’re hard to beat, and have players that can definitely cause problems for them.
“I think the last time we went to Celtic Park we did that [2-1 defeat in October], so it’s important that we try and do the same thing again.”
Winger Spittal says testing himself and Motherwell against the best team in the country is something they should enjoy, but says they can’t focus too much on how good Celtic are.
He said: “I relish playing against them. They’re the best players in the country and that’s why you play in this league, because you want to come up against the best and showcase your talents.
“Over the last couple of months we’re really expressed ourselves well.
“We played against Rangers a couple of weeks ago and gave them a really tough game. We probably shot ourselves in the foot at the wrong time in the game, but it’s important in those tough moments that you stay in the game.
“We know it’s going to be really tough. You’re going there, it’s going to be a good atmosphere, but it’s one we’ve got to relish.
“They’re a really good team, they’re at the top of the league for a reason.
“The consistency levels that they’ve shown over the past two season, the calibre of player that they’re bringing in, they’re a really good team, but it’s important that we don’t focus on that too much.
“We have to focus on us, that’s the best way to prepare for this game.”
Spittal has enjoyed playing under new boss Stuart Kettlewell and says consistency in team selection has gone a long way towards their success.
He said: “He’s simplified things for us, told us if we’re in the team what to do to stay in it, and I’ve got my head down and worked hard.
“Not that I wasn’t doing that before, but I think results bring confidence as well.
“There has been a continuity in team selection that probably the previous manager never had the luxury of doing – we had a lot of injuries to contend with.
“But with the new manager coming in, the team’s not really changed as much, due to the results being good, and that brings confidence.”
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