Strachan salutes Celtic sharp-shooters

Celtic boss Gordon Strachan watched Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura grab a hat-trick before heaping praise on his strikers despite none of them being on the scoresheet in the 7-0 win over St Mirren.

The club’s forwards have come in for criticism in recent weeks as Celtic stuttered to three draws in a row in their race for a fourth successive Scottish Premier League title.

Rivals Rangers’ superior goal difference means they now sit top of the table after clawing back a seven-point deficit since the turn of the year.

But the Hoops’ comprehensive win against 10-man St Mirren has reduced this advantage significantly as they prepare for a midweek visit to Kilmarnock before facing the Buddies again in the Scottish Cup next weekend.

Strachan complemented his forwards on their contribution to Saturday’s victory despite all the goals coming from his midfield players.

“The job, after your rivals have won before you, is to win as well and I saw a lot of good performances out there against St Mirren,” Strachan said.

“If you look at the chances made when the two strikers were on, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Scott McDonald, they were better than when they were off.

“I think when they went off we started to get sloppy. That says a lot about them and their performances when they were on. They allowed us to command the penalty area and we could pass the ball into them and take it from there.

Nakamura’s hat-trick, the second of his Parkhead career, helped Celtic keep the pressure on Rangers.

The comprehensive victory reduced their rivals lead on goal difference at the top to just four after a Barry Ferguson strike was enough to give Rangers a 1-0 win away to Hamilton.

A first-half double from Nakamura sent Celtic on their way and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink could afford to miss a penalty as Buddies defender Jack Ross was ordered off.

Celtic made their extra man advantage count in the second-half with a sensational strike from Marc Crosas before a Scott Brown double either side of a stunning Nakamura free-kick.

An own goal from John Potter sealed the win for the Parkhead side.