Celtic coach Johan Mjallby has told his players to put title talk on the back burner after they moved ahead of champions Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premier League table once again.
The Bhoys beat Hibs 3-1 on Wednesday night to reclaim top spot from Rangers just 24 hours after their 2-0 win at St Johnstone.
Irish striker Anthony Stokes put Celtic into an early lead and two Gary Hooper goals, one from the penalty spot, had them three up before a second-half consolation from former Irish midfielder Liam Miller.
The Celts are now two points clear of Rangers with nine games to go this season but coach Mjallby, who again addressed the media after the game in the absence of Neil Lennon, wants to calm all title talk in the Hoops dressing-room.
“Mentality-wise, I think there are too many games to go before you can start to think about getting nervous about things,” said the Swede.
“Especially now, with so many games coming up, it’s just important for us to get as many wins as possible.
“I think it’s a bit of both mentality and ability now. The ability is always going to be important because of the way we play the game and the way we hope to make sure we pick up the three points.
“When it comes to the latter stage of the season, it might come in handy if you are very strong mentally then.”
Mjallby also insisted that Celtic will focus on their own run-in and try to shut Rangers out of their minds for as long as possible.
“It’s always good to be top, that’s what we are aiming for. Rangers won yesterday and they put a wee bit of pressure on us to try and get three points,” he added.
“We did that with a good performance. The pressure is always going to be there and there are a lot of important games coming up.
“We just need to focus on ourselves and make sure we win as many games as possible and get a good run now. When we play them next time, that’s the first time we are going to worry about Rangers.”
Meanwhile, the Scottish League have confirmed that the final Old Firm derby of the season will take place on Easter Sunday at Ibrox with a 12.30pm kick-off time.
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