SIX league wins in a row have put Celtic top of the table, but Adam Matthews is sure they can now stay unbeaten in the Premiership until the end of the season.

The Welsh full-back has been delighted to see the Hoops find form after a stuttering start to the campaign under new boss Ronny Deila.

Ahead of this afternoon's trip to Fir Park they are three points clear of the chasing pack despite defeats earlier this term at Inverness and at home to Hamilton.

But that last loss to Accies sparked the Parkhead side into going on a winning run.

And confidence is now so high at the club that Matthews feels that not only will Celtic remain at the top of the table for the rest of the season, but they can do so without losing another game.

"That is our goal," he said. "Obviously it would be tough because it would step up the pressure against us. But if we could do it from here on in it would be brilliant."

Celtic were slow to warm up in the league this term, but they are still fighting on four fronts - Premiership, Scottish Cup, the League Cup and the Europa League.

It will make for a busy and intriguing spell for Deila's men early next year and Matthews hopes that by then they'll have made themselves invincible in domestic matches at least.

He said: "It was always going to take time for us with the new manager, especially after how well Neil Lennon did here.

"But I think we are starting to show how good a team we can be under him.

"With the amount of games we've had to play it was going to take a bit of time to get our league form going. But we've done that in recent weeks.

"The fact it took us a while to get to the top of the league shows how competitive it is.

"Hearts and Hibs have gone, but Hamilton have come in and done really well. But we'd like to create a bit of a gap in the league now."

Maintaining that momentum into the New Year may be reliant on Celtic hanging on to their current squad. With the transfer window approaching fast there is always a fear that players be lured away from the club - and that can upset the balance in the side.

Virgil Van Dijk has attracted lots of interest since arriving at Celtic 18 months ago and he could be the subject of offers from elsewhere.

ALTHOUGH it is inevitable the 23-year-old centre-half will eventually head to pastures new, Matthews would love the Dutchman to remain in place until at least the end of the current campaign.

"It is going to be tough to keep Virgil with the form he is showing, but we want to do that and show what a good team we are," he said.

"We want to keep everyone together here and keep building on the good performances that we have had in the last couple of weeks."

Matthews himself is in no rush to leave the Glasgow club.

Although close friends with fellow-Welshman Joe Ledley, who has been in fine form at Crystal Palace, and with goalkeeper Fraser Forster, now at Southampton, the 22-year-old defender is adamant he is not hankering for a move south of the border.

"Not at all," he insisted. "I'm enjoying my football up here at the minute and Celtic is a massive club so I'm not looking to leave any time soon.

"I love Glasgow as a city and my family love coming up here to visit.

"I meet Joe when we're with Wales and I speak to him on a regular basis.

"He is enjoying it at Palace and he has carried on his form from up here. The players here knew when he left that he'd be a top player in the Premiership and he is proving that.

"Unless you've played with Joe you don't realise how much work he does on the pitch. He probably works harder than anyone else and we knew when he left that he would be a big miss for us."

TODAY at Fir Park Celtic will come up against a Motherwell team who have lost their way in the league after finishing in second place last season.

Stuart McCall has left the club and caretaker manager Kenny Black described them as "rudderless" last weekend.

But Matthews is reluctant to take anything for granted.

"It is always a tough place to go," he said. "The pitch isn't the best - it has a bit of a slant on it - so it's going to be tough.

"Motherwell have been a top side in the last couple of years so we know what to expect and we'll have a job to beat them.

"I've never played on a pitch like it before, but we'll just have to deal with it and hopefully we can do that."

For Matthews personally, the key between now and the second half of the campaign will be to stay free of injury.

"Earlier this season I had a long time off through injury, but I hope that is behind me now and I can get a good run of games," he said.

"I'm getting there slowly. It's been tough and it took a bit of time to get my fitness back. But in the last couple of games I have shown that I'm getting there and now I want to keep improving."