Celtic 2-0 St Mirren: Rangers results ‘make no difference’ to league leaders, says Postecoglou

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou says Rangers’ results “make no difference” to him after his side saw off a stubborn St Mirren to stay top of the Scottish Premiership table.

Nearest challengers Rangers remain within three points of the leaders after a 1-0 win at St Johnstone.

“I don’t care,” Postecoglou responded when asked about the Rangers score.

“What’s important is if we are winning games then we are in good shape. I wasn’t looking at the ladder when we were six points behind and I’m not looking at it now.”

The victory extends Celtic’s unbeaten league run to 23 games, while St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson – whose side drop to ninth – is still searching for his first points.

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Postecoglou’s side dropped points at Hibernian on Sunday but were not punished as nearest challengers Rangers failed to narrow the gap.

To make sure their three-point advantage would remain intact, they would have to defeat a St Mirren side that made the trip to Parkhead as the last Scottish side to leave there with a victory.

The hosts started with the intensity and urgency their manager demands, but they failed to fashion any chances in the opening exchanges.

It was instead St Mirren who almost scored for them, with Charles Dunne slicing a clearance from a Jota cross off his own crossbar.

Jota again created the danger when another cross from the winger made its way to Abada, who stung the palms of Alnwick with a close-range effort.

St Mirren then showed they were capable of giving the leaders a scare as Curtis Main came close to getting his toe on the end of a dangerous ball from Richard Tait.

But the visitors were largely camped in their own half, with Celtic right-back Josip Juranovic lashing a strike from the edge of the area narrowly over and Jota forcing Alnwick high to his left to parry to safety.

As the half progressed, frustration mounted in the home support as every overhit pass and extra touch on the ball was met with a louder groan.

But there was a huge sigh of relief in the Celtic camp 10 minutes into the second period when Jota’s wide free-kick eventually fell to Carter-Vickers, who smashed a volley past a helpless Alnwick.

The Premiership leaders struggled to close out the game against a well-organised unit, but the points were sealed when Jota’s header was blocked before McGregor raced onto the ball and shot low into the bottom-right corner.

Man of the match – Matt O’Riley

What did we learn?

Following Sunday’s goalless draw at Easter Road, Postecoglou would have been fearing a repeat after a flat first half in front of goal.

The Australian’s side have certainly lost their zip in recent weeks and lack a central presence at the top end of the pitch without strikers Giorgos Giakoumakis and Kyogo Furuhashi.

But with just nine games to go, Postecoglou is simply chalking the fixtures off as he hunts down the Premiership title.

Hearts and Celtic were two tough assignments for Robinson in his first games in charge, but the St Mirren boss will take encouragement in the way his side frustrated Celtic for long spells.

With a trip to Ross County to come on Saturday before a home game against bottom side Dundee, Robinson will fancy his chances of picking up his first points.

What did they say?

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou: “We dominated the ball and it’s hard when the opposition sits so deep. I thought we were solid. We stayed composed and did what we had to do to wear down the opposition.

“It’s how most teams set up against us and the important thing for us was not to get side-tracked by any anxiety. We’ve been unbelievable at home this year, the way we’ve controlled games.”

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson: “It’s as comfortable I’ve felt out of possession at Celtic Park. But did we pass the ball well enough to get anything out the game? No, we didn’t.

“Ultimately it wasn’t good enough in the end. You have to be braver, we didn’t stay on the ball long enough.”

What’s next?

St Mirren go to Ross County on Saturday (15:00 GMT) before Celtic travel to Livingston the following day (12:00).