Postecoglou pleased as Celtic keep calm to beat St Mirren

Ange Postecoglou praised his players for staying focused inside an anxious Celtic Park as the cinch Premiership leaders beat St Mirren 2-0.

Celtic dominated possession and territory throughout but found clear-cut chances hard to come by against a St Mirren side featuring five at the back and two defensive midfielders.

Frustration was audible in the crowd as the first half wore on but the breakthrough came from a 55th-minute set-piece when Cameron Carter-Vickers volleyed home from six yards.

Celtic remained in control and Callum McGregor drilled home with nine minutes left to maintain his side's three-point lead over Rangers.

Postecoglou said: "I’m pleased players kept their focus. It was another game where we had a lot of the ball, they sat very deep and it could have been easy for us to get anxious and look for different things to do.

"But we said at some point in the second half they will tire or lose some concentration and we just need to stay on it. I thought we did and we controlled the game really well. I don’t think they had a chance on goal.

"I was pleased with the players’ focus. It’s a big part of it now. That’s what it’s all about at this stage of the season, keeping focused and not getting distracted by noise or other emotions that might be shown by people outside.

"We have been pretty good at that to be fair, there’s only been a couple of games where we have been really frustrated.

"I sensed that, even though we didn’t get the early goal, we were in control and they didn’t really have a threat going the other way, so it was just a matter of continually probing and waiting for our opportunity."

Postecoglou claimed fans venting their frustration was "only natural".

"You are getting to the business end of the year and