SCOTT TANSER will call upon the memory of the valiant midweek draw with Celtic as well as his previous visit to an empty Ibrox as St Mirren look to thwart Rangers on Boxing Day.

Few gave the Paisley side any chance against Ange Postecoglou’s men when the SPFL refused their request for a postponement after a Covid outbreak swept through their dressing room, ruling out 11 first-team regulars.

That saw a number of unfamiliar faces catapulted into the matchday squad but, despite that adversity and Celtic’s territorial dominance, St Mirren held their shape to record a well-deserved point. Repeating that trick for the second time in five days seems a big ask but Tanser says they will give it their best shot.

“To come up against Celtic was always going to be a tough shift,” said the defender, a veteran at the age of 27. “But the way we played on the night, everyone to a man was brilliant.

“It’s the most satisfying point I’ve ever taken in my career, without a doubt. Celtic are a good side and are pushing at the top of the table. We’re not on the greatest of runs at the moment but the shift we put in was ridiculous.

“Even though there were many first-team guys out, there were young ones ready to step up. I was with the young lad Kieran [Offord] who was making his debut and he was great. He was on my side of the pitch and we worked really well together.

“Celtic were coming down their right side a lot so it was all about us keeping our shape and stopping the crosses. And I felt we did that 90 percent of the time.

“We’ve seen a few of the young lads in training but we hadn’t really been together much. That was the first time we’d met them in a changing room. It was a great experience for them and things like this are going to happen with the way things are going at the moment.

“As a young lad these are the stages you want to be playing on, guys like Kieran and the young lad who came on – I’ve forgotten his name! [Daniel McManus]. He came on and slotted in well, put in a great block from a cross.

“Celtic had around 83 percent possession and when you hear that you would think they would have gone on and scored six. We kept them out and had chances ourselves to win the game. But a draw was a great result.

“Now we have to try to repeat that against Rangers which won’t be easy. If we play like we did against Celtic then I can see us getting something.”

Tanser was part of the St Johnstone side that dispatched Rangers from the Scottish Cup in April on their way to eventually completing a domestic cup double.

A “bittersweet” evening saw him pick up an injury that ruled him out for the rest of that season but the memory of playing in an empty Ibrox is one that inspires him ahead of his return.

“The cup tie was great for all the lads,” he recalled. “But I got injured in the game so I was supporting from inside the changing room when that equalising goal went in.

“It was bittersweet for me as it was my last game for St Johnstone. But I went out on a high when you see what the team went on to do afterwards. Going to Ibrox when it’s down to 500 fans instead of 50,000  - it’s a different ball game. When it’s full, it’s electric. And without that support it’s so quiet. The support is the 12th man for them usually, it’s massive.

“If Rangers have an off-day then we need to capitalise on it. We just have to push for 90 minutes and see what happens. We’ll just take the game to them and hopefully come out with something.”