Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor will take confidence from Zenit goal to St Johnstone match

Celtic’s Callum McGregor in action (SNS)

CALLUM MCGREGOR will have his winning goal against Zenit St Petersburg still fresh in his mind when he takes to the Parkhead pitch again on Sunday against St Johnstone.

The 24-year-old midfielder celebrated his 150th appearance for the Hoops on Thursday with a stunning strike to give them a 1-0 advantage ahead of the second leg of their Europa League last-32 clash against the Russian outfit next week.

Before that, Brendan Rodgers’ side return to Ladbrokes Premiership duty against Saints with McGregor spurred on by his crucial strike.

The Scotland cap said: “It is always nice to have a goal a couple of days before it and you are always full of confidence the next time you play.

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“It was brilliant. I did it against Bayern Munich as well and it was the same feeling, that total elation when the ball hits the back of the net, especially at Celtic Park, the noise levels means three or four minutes after the goal it seems as if the goal celebration is still going on.

“We will prepare properly and get recovered and we need three points on Sunday.”

McGregor believes the Scottish champions’ dominance of the game against Roberto Mancini’s expensively-assembled side means they can travel to St Petersburg with confidence.

The former Celtic youth player said: “The game plan was excellent, the boys carried it out really well and to get a clean sheet and go on to win the game is excellent.

“It is a great start. We are halfway in the tie and we know there is a lot of work to do as well but it certainly gives us confidence.

“We know that we can play at this level.

“We actually looked comfortable, we bossed most periods of the night so that will give us great confidence going into next week and we will try to finish the tie off.”