Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou feels the increasingly competitive nature of the cinch Premiership makes it even more vital his team stick to their principles during the title run-in.

Celtic dropped their first points of 2022 on Sunday when they were held to a goalless draw by Hibernian but they had to edge out Aberdeen and Dundee in five-goal thrillers in previous weeks.

St Mirren visit Celtic Park on Wednesday having collected 14 points since the winter break. Only Celtic have won more despite Saints playing a game less than most of the division.

With only five points separating seven teams in the middle of the table and everyone having something to aim for, Postecoglou is in no doubt that the remainder of the campaign will be a battle for all concerned.

The Celtic boss, whose team lead Rangers by three points, said: “I know people have said there’s only 10 games to go but you have seen the shift in the last 10 games.

“Every game does have an edge, every team is playing for something whether it’s avoiding relegation or getting into the top half, Europe, championships. There’s a fight for everything out there.

“Not that there isn’t earlier in the year but it just becomes more of a focus now and every team has to deal with that, including ourselves.

“St Mirren’s form has been as good as anyone’s apart from ours in recent times and we know that’s a danger.

“Irrespective of that, we know that the next 10 games, every one is going to be a real arm wrestle. I don’t think you will find that any team is not going to fight for something in these games.

“Which is why it’s even more important that we don’t get derailed and think we need to change our approach or do things differently.

“We have just got to stay the course and whatever has got us to this point, keep doing down that road and believing in it and tackling the challenges ahead. But there is no doubt you are going to see plenty of competitive games between now and the end of the year, in all fixtures.”

Postecoglou understands why some observers might call for a tweak in his tactics after recent challenges and the 5-1 aggregate defeat in Europe by Bodo/Glimt.

“I don’t want to change people’s opinions and how they view things but we are where we are today because of a reason – because we believe in playing the game a certain way,” he said.

“That’s not going to change because people think something didn’t work for 90 minutes of a football game. That’s not what I’m about, that’s not what we are going to be about as a team.

“We are in year one of building a team that hopefully plays football in a way that is going to be totally identifiable to us. That’s never going to change while I’m here. And to the credit of the players, they are all in on it.

“That’s the kind of team we want to be. We will keep doing what we have always done, what has got us to this place. We will keep forging ahead and along the way we are not going to have 100 per cent of people admiring our work. That’s fine.”

Postecoglou will make a call on Wednesday on the fitness of striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, who missed the Easter Road stalemate through illness.

“If I had to make a call he probably won’t start but he might be involved,” he said. “But I will wait and see how he’s feeling.”