Celtic midfielder Stuart Armstrong feels that it was not his team's complacency, but a spirited display from St Johnstone that led to a defeat for the Bhoys and he has vowed an appropriate response in their upcoming matches.

The Hoops went into their match against Tommy Wright’s side on the back of a stupendous run of form which had seen Ronny Deila’s side win their last eight league games. They had scored 22 times and conceded a solitary goal in the process.




Danny Swanson’s strike in the 54th minute was the only goal of the match as Celtic suffered a shock defeat. Despite their loss, Deila’s men remain strong favourites to retain their Scottish Premiership title having collected 63 points from their 27 games so far, six clear of their nearest rivals Aberdeen.

Armstrong feels that the visitors put up a splendid display and limited the goalscoring chances for the hosts.
 


“Credit to St Johnstone because they played well, defended well and they were hard to break down”, he told the club site.

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“A lot of our possession was in front of them and we couldn’t seem to find that killer pass."

The 22-year-old added that despite Celtic’s commanding lead over their opponents in the race for the league title they didn’t let complacency creep in and the Bhoys played as well as they could.

“We take nothing for granted and there’s still a lot of time left in the season.”

Celtic will next play Dundee United in the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup on Sunday followed by the League Cup final against the same opponents the following weekend.

Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven, who both arrived at Celtic Park from Dundee United in the winter transfer window, being cup-tied, will be unable to play against their former employers.

The midfielder feels that their absence from the cup games will allow them to stay refreshed for their upcoming league matches.

“The Dundee United matches are big games for the boys.

“Myself and Gary Mackay-Steven won’t be involved in two of them, we’ll be looking on from afar, but we can play in the league game so we’ll be looking to rest up in the meantime.

“All the boys know what Dundee United are about, having played them so many times previously and having watched some videos from past performances, so they know what they’re up against.”

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