Martin O'Neill praised Celtic for doing what they had to do by defeating Heart of Midlothian at Tynecastle on Saturday evening. 

After a goalless and fairly turgid first half, Celtic turned on the style after the restart with goals from Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn and a double from substitute Adam Idah making sure the Hoops went three points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership standings. 

Aberdeen - who had been matching Celtic up until now - lost to St Mirren. While traditional title rivals Rangers could only draw against Dundee United. 

That created the perfect scenario for Celtic going into their 7.45pm away clash, and former manager O'Neill believes the manner his old club won the game in the end sets them up perfectly for their midweek UEFA Champions League meeting with Club Brugge. 

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Reflecting on Celtic finishing victorious on their travels whilst their rivals slipped up, O'Neill told Sky Sports: “Well, it’s a great couple of hours for Celtic with Aberdeen losing and Rangers drawing at home and Celtic winning away at Tynecastle. Really terrific.

“First half. I thought Hearts did well, but we mentioned at half-time we didn’t need encyclopaedic knowledge to know that Celtic would create chances in the second half of the game. 

(Image: PA) “Hearts ran out of steam, but obviously, eventually they looked like a side that was struggling. Really just couldn’t get a chance to make it 2-1 in the game as well. A big, big chance for them and they couldn’t take that one.

“A side that has got really no confidence, if you’re not scoring enough goals, and they certainly haven’t. We mentioned it before they’ve only scored five from open play this season. That’s incredibly bad.

“And it was a struggle for them in the second half. They tried to take a couple of risks and Celtic were going through them towards the end. But it’s as if it’s a struggle for them all season.

“As for Celtic, a great away performance in the second half. And what a way to line up for the Champions League game coming up midweek.”