Celtic's biggest concern came from dugout but John Kennedy explained all as Reo Hatate brings 'wow' factor

The champions failed to make any headway in a strangely lacklustre first-half display in which they didn’t register a shot on target before springing to life after the interval to belatedly put St Mirren to the sword with a performance that was as bright as the opening period had been insipid.

Goals from Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi all but ended matters as a contest by the hour mark, allowing Celtic to preserve their energies over the final stretch with their visitors’ race well and truly run. A third goal nodded in by Adam Idah helped put an extra sheen on the scoreboard during a period of dominance in which Brendan Rodgers’ side looked capable of prising open the St Mirren defence with every attack.

Goal difference could yet prove to be a factor in a frenetic title race but, that aside, there was little for Rodgers to quibble above after his side made sure of the victory that leaves them four points clear at the top, ensuring Rangers can’t overtake them even with a win at Ross County this afternoon. “In the first half, we could have connected the game a bit better,” admitted Rodgers. “We were either too rushed in the final third or we didn’t keep the ball long enough in there. We could have been better. We had to find calmness and in the second half we were very good.”

The only thing, in fact, to cause the Celtic fans any sort of anxiety once their team had harvested a two-goal lead was the sight of James Forrest appearing on the touchline, ready to come on. One by one supporters in the main stand stood up to shout to the Celtic bench that they had already made five substitutions, no doubt fearing there had been the sort of miscount that could come with possible ramifications down the line.

It took assistant manager John Kennedy to finally appease them, turning to the stand, holding up six fingers and pointing to his head to explain St Mirren’s use of a concussion replacement meant Celtic were permitted an extra substitution, too. Those nerves were understandable given the tightness of the league table. Titles have been won and lost on lesser technicalities but this one was all above board.

By that point there was nothing on the pitch to trouble Celtic, something that hadn’t been the case in the first half when the team failed to get into any kind of rhythm. It was a world away from the high-octane intensity of the Old Firm derby a week earlier, with Celtic smothered and suffocated by a St Mirren side locked into a 5-3-1-1 system that gave the hosts next to no space in which to operate. Alex Gogic, in particular, defended like a warrior, barrelling into every 50/50 tackle while also taking the chance to gallop up the park, ball at his feet, socks at his ankles, whenever the opportunity presented itself. One pass into Toyosi Olusanya late in the period deserved better than the striker’s hopeful lash over the crossbar.

How Celtic missed the energy of Daizen Maeda in what was a largely soporific first half performance. Neither Nicolas Kuhn nor Hyun-jun Yang could provide a spark down the flanks, leaving Furuhashi starved of service in the middle. It was a different story, however, after the break as the home side upped the intensity and duly reaped the rewards. St Mirren, their prospects weakened by a number of injury-enforced substitutions, never looked as formidable once they had fallen behind, the only remaining issue the margin of Celtic’s victory.

Alistair Johnston was the creator of the first two goals. The full-back’s pass to Hatate after 50 minutes presented the opportunity but the rest was down to the Japanese whose expert outside-of-the-foot finish speared into the top corner of Zach Hemming’s net. It had the effect of popping a balloon, the tension easing all around Parkhead with their team having finally claimed the lead. Eight minutes later and Celtic delivered the second goal that all but settled matters. Johnson swung in the cross, allowing Furuhashi to breeze beyond the defenders to nod past Hemming.

“Reo’s goal, wow,” admired Johnston. “It can’t really be called an assist – I just kind of passed and it was a case of ‘you do what you want to do.’ I mean, rip that one into the top bin and it’s unsaveable. The second one, Kyogo’s movement’s great. You put the ball in a dangerous area and he is there most of the time. It’s a great header. He’s unbelievable in the air for such a small guy.”

Yang, Hatate and Luis Palma ought to have stretched the lead before Idah did so four minutes from time, quickest to react after Matt O’Riley’s shot had been repelled by the goalkeeper. Celtic will now turn their attention to next weekend’s Scottish Cup semi-final with Aberdeen and there is a feeling growing among the camp that they are building up momentum at the best possible time.

“Sometimes you can get caught up in it a little bit in January or February and it just feels like a constant churn of games,” added Johnston. “You’re not really sure what you’re playing for, but now when you can see that finish line, it really puts things in perspective. We know exactly what we need to do. We know the permutations that if we win [the rest of our games], we’re going to finish with two trophies. That’s exciting for us.”