Adam Idah came off the bench to hit a double as Celtic came from behind to win another close contest with Motherwell in stoppage time.

Celtic were in serious danger of losing more ground in the cinch Premiership title race after Blair Spittal scored a wonderful goal to give Motherwell a deserved half-time lead at Fir Park.

But Idah headed Celtic level within five minutes of the restart and struck in the third minute of added time as the champions turned the tide in the latter stages of the game.

Fellow substitute Luis Palma made it 3-1 as Celtic cut the gap on leaders Rangers back to two points.

Rangers had piled the pressure on with a 5-0 victory over in-form Hearts on Saturday after Celtic lost top spot following two draws in their previous three league matches.

They knew they would likely face a tough encounter against a Motherwell who have drawn twice at Parkhead in the past year and ran Brendan Rodgers’ side close at Fir Park earlier this season, when Matt O’Riley netted a winner in the seventh minute of time added on.

Spittal was back from injury as Harry Paton missed out, while Celtic had Alistair Johnston and Tomoki Iwata making comebacks, the latter’s selection allowing Callum McGregor to play further forward.

Greg Taylor saw an early shot held by Motherwell captain Liam Kelly, but it was the visiting defence which looked vulnerable in the opening stages.

Lennon Miller got both Theo Bair and Jack Vale in behind with a quick pass on separate occasions. Bair finished brilliantly but was flagged offside and Vale could not get a shot away, turning inside and outside Mark Nawrocki before the defender recovered.

Vale soon forced a diving save from Joe Hart after slack play from Celtic and Motherwell cut open their visitors with an excellent one-touch move which ended with Georgie Gent slicing wide.

Celtic only carved out one real first-half chance, when McGregor’s through-ball found Kyogo Furuhashi, but Kelly came out to block with his feet.

Motherwell remained a threat though and their opener was a thing of beauty. Miller swivelled his way past McGregor with a tremendous piece of skill and set up Spittal to curl the ball out of Hart’s reach from 22 yards.

Idah came on for Furuhashi, who appeared to hurt his troublesome shoulder late in the first half. The Irishman made an instant impact, getting a run on Dan Casey to meet Taylor’s cross and power a header home from 12 yards.

The goal did not initially shift the momentum, though. Hart pulled off a brilliant stop from Miller’s header and Vale threatened twice, the second time when tackling the Celtic goalkeeper, who was relieved to see the ball go wide.

But the champions began to exert more pressure. Cameron Carter-Vickers came off the bench to add an assurance to the Celtic defence and fellow substitute Yang Hyun-jun was causing far more problems for the home team than the man he replaced, Nicolas Kuhn.

Liam Scales had a header saved, Daizen Maeda failed to get any of three chances on target and O’Riley saw a shot charged down by the Motherwell wall after Calum Butcher had hauled Idah to the ground after being turned on the edge of the box.

Willie Collum booked the Motherwell man and stuck to his decision despite being called to the monitor for a potential red-card review.

The pressure grow and Idah got ahead of his marker to convert Johnston’s low cross before Palma tapped home Yang’s ball across the face of goal.

Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart has revealed he wanted to end his playing career on his own terms and could not imagine finishing it at any other club.

The 75-times capped England international this week announced his decision to retire at the end of the season, when he will be 37.

The former Manchester City player rejuvenated his career after moving from Tottenham in the summer of 2021, adding a clean sweep of Scottish domestic trophies to his full collection of English major honours.

And he wants the focus on his future to quickly switch to his attempts to continue that success as Celtic bid to rise to a strong title challenge from Rangers after losing top spot in the cinch Premiership last weekend.

Hart said: “I have loved every moment of being here, myself and my family, it’s been everything and more than I wanted it to be, and I will be forever proud that I represented this club.

“The most pleasing thing for me is a lot of the people here respect that I come and I give my all. Whether it’s good, bad or indifferent.

“I’m sure there’s a lot of times when people wanted me in, wanted me out, but that’s the life of a goalkeeper. But ultimately you are respected as a person, and welcomed into a really special club.

“I will be 37 at the end of this season. What direction the club wants to go, whether I fitted into that, I wasn’t too sure. We didn’t even have that conversation.

“I certainly wasn’t interested in going and trying to play anywhere else.

“So I felt, right, I wanted to be strong and fit and ultimately happy. If there is such a thing, I feel I am in that place, and I feel like it’s the right time.”

Hart, who made his first-team debut for Shrewsbury 20 years ago, added: “I looked at what age I’m going to be, I’m aware of all the stresses I have put myself through body-wise all through my career.

“I didn’t really want to wait and be told. And with the cycle of the three years I have managed to do here, I wasn’t interested in playing anywhere else. It just felt right.

“I felt like I know and I wanted the club to know because I have a lot of love and respect for this club and I want the club to move forward to bigger and better things.

“No-one needs the speculation of whether a regular starter is going to be offered a contract, sign a contract, whether he is looking elsewhere. That’s a needless narrative when all of us are on the same page so I thought it was important to address it.

“There will be a couple of days of noise but after that no-one will care. ‘Oh right, Joe is retiring at the end of the season, Celtic need a goalkeeper, but right now he is there and he is going to be head down and fully fighting for this special club’.”

Hart’s decision gives manager Brendan Rodgers one less big call to make as he plans for what appears to be a crucial summer transfer window.

“I think we are very clear on what we need to improve on within the team and the squad,” said Rodgers, who welcomes Alistair Johnston and Cameron Carter-Vickers back from injury for Sunday’s trip to Motherwell.

“But certainly with Joe going, that really quickens that up in terms of needing to bring in someone for next year.”

Joe Hart believes announcing his retirement from football will end speculation about his future with Celtic.

The former England and Manchester City goalkeeper will be 37 when his three-year contract expires in the summer.

Hart made his first-team debut for Shrewsbury in April 2004 and won 75 caps for England.

He followed Sir Kenny Dalglish and Andrei Kanchelskis in claiming winners’ medals in the three major trophies in England and Scotland when Celtic won the Scottish Cup last season but this will be his final season as he looks to help Brendan Rodgers plan for the future.

“This is something I have thought about for a while,” Hart told Celtic TV.

“There’s no right or wrong time is there but the way this club works is that I’m playing out at the moment. There’s so much on it. There’s so much heart and soul poured into what we’re doing as a football club.

“But with the grand scheme of the club, with the support base, and the conversations that go on around it, there’s obviously a conversation around the goalkeeping position for next season.

“So I just think it was really important that with the blessing of the club – I’ve had the conversations with the club with Brendan, with Stevie Woods (goalkeeping coach) – that we get the message out, it takes one thing off the table that people need to speculate over.

“I’m definitely not going to be there next season. I’m not going to be available to play football next season.

“So I want to take that off the table and then we can talk about why and then push forward.”

Hart still feels “great” physically and he stressed his commitment to the Parkhead club as they look to defend their cinch Premiership title and the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.

With 13 league fixtures remaining, the Hoops are two points behind Old Firm rivals Rangers and Hart, who joined the Scottish champions from Tottenham in 2021, promised Hoops fans he remains up for the fight.

He said: “Mentally I’m in that one place that I like to be, I’m in a place of clarity. Obviously, I’ve thought about this a lot.

“I think the right the right time is now. I’ve got the clarity of mind that I was able to go to the club and explain my position and them totally understand.

“I think the hardest thing for me once I’d made the decision was to explain that although I intend on finishing from June onwards, I’m so up for it. I’m so still so involved and still so committed.

“And I thank the club for that. I think Brendan and Stevie Woods for understanding where my mind was at and understanding me as a person.

“So I appreciate the open mindedness of the club and hopefully the open mindedness of the fans when they see this and understand that this is not someone who’s checking out, this is someone who’s just letting people know because they think it’s important.

“I’m not retiring from working. I just won’t be a goalkeeper anymore.

“All I want to do now is focus. I want to focus on the job in hand, representing this amazing club that I play for and living my heart and soul on the field.”

Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart is to retire at the end of the season.

The former England and Manchester City player will be 37 when his three-year contract expires in the summer.

Hart made his first-team debut for Shrewsbury in April 2004 and won 75 caps for England.

He followed Sir Kenny Dalglish and Andrei Kanchelskis in claiming winners’ medals in the three major trophies in England and Scotland when Celtic won the Scottish Cup last season.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said on the club’s official website: “Joe has enjoyed a phenomenal career and I know will be huge miss to the game when he finally retires from playing football in the summer.

“For all he has done in football, Joe deserves huge praise and congratulations, he has been such a brilliant asset to Celtic of course and the wider game at the highest levels, domestically and internationally.

“But more than that, he is a tremendous man, just brilliant to work with, someone who I know has been a great team-mate to so many throughout his career and a player who never gives anything but his absolute best. Each and every day his work ethic is an example to all in football.

“I totally understand and respect Joe’s reasons for making this announcement and for being clear to the club and our fans on his future.

“I also know he will continue to work right through this season with the same intensity, commitment and drive which he has always been known for.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers called on his players to improve their mentality after Kilmarnock’s late equaliser handed Rangers the initiative in the Premiership title race.

Rodgers thought they had got away with a poor performance as Celtic led through Kyogo Furuhashi’s 32nd-minute header when the clock struck 90 minutes.

But Killie had created several chances and caused problems for Celtic with their pressing and David Watson headed home in stoppage-time after substitute Alexandro Bernabei misjudged Fraser Murray’s cross.

Matt O’Riley was denied several times as Celtic looked for a second goal either side of the break but they struggled to create chances in the final half hour.

Rodgers said: “We lacked authority on the ball, we lacked composure, all the things you need to do to control the game. We looked nervous on the ball and, especially second half, we created nowhere near what we would want to.

“It’s happened too many times over the course of the season. We have played well in spells but then when we haven’t taken our chances and a wee bit of anxiety creeps in, you have to be able to deal with that pressure.

“I have been here often enough and had enough games here as a manager to understand the pressures of taking the ball and dealing with it and we didn’t do that well enough. It’s bitterly disappointing.”

Rodgers, whose side had already lost twice to Killie this season, added: “It is not about ability or technique now, it is about mentality. It is about not letting that man go past you and having that drive and composure to play.

“We saw it the second half, even though we were not under great pressure we kept making it hard for ourselves.”

Rangers were seven points behind when Philippe Clement took over eight games into the cinch Premiership season but the Light Blues will go two ahead if they beat St Johnstone in Perth on Sunday.

Rodgers dismissed suggestions the pressure of the title race was a factor.

“Irrespective of how Rangers play or work, it’s nothing to do with us,” he said.

“It was us giving the ball away and being nervous. That has nothing to do with anyone other than ourselves.

“It doesn’t matter what anyone else does. It can’t be allowed to continue because we’ll get to the pressure point of the season eventually.

“It’s now about the mind game. Physically and technically you’re in a good place so it’s all about the mind now.”

Killie manager Derek McInnes felt his side were well worth a point.

“It didn’t feel like a smash and grab, coming here and defending for 90-odd minutes and then nicking an equaliser,” he said. “It wasn’t that at all.

“We had to suffer first half at times with possession. We allowed the Celtic players that we wanted to have more touches of the ball than some of the other ones. I thought we dealt with their four wide players well.

“We picked and chose our moments to get after them and got our reward.”

McInnes played down first-half penalty claims when Marley Watkins argued he had been taken down from behind by Stephen Welsh.

“Marley’s adamant it was a penalty,” McInnes said. “I’ve seen it a couple of times, it looks the like the defender’s first touch has taken the ball.”

Kilmarnock once again proved a thorn in Celtic’s side as David Watson headed a stoppage-time equaliser at Parkhead to deal a major blow to the Hoops’ title hopes.

A first-half header from Kyogo Furuhashi looked like being just enough to send Celtic three points ahead of Rangers in the cinch Premiership title race.

But Watson headed into the corner of the net from fellow substitute Fraser Murray’s cross after Alexandro Bernabei had misjudged the flight of the ball.

The 1-1 draw gives Rangers the chance to move two points clear at the top of the table when they face St Johnstone in Perth on Sunday, having already clawed back a seven-point deficit since Philippe Clement took over eight games into the season.

Kilmarnock had already beaten their hosts twice at Rugby Park this season – once in the Viaplay Cup – and their late goal came from one of 12 shots at goal.

Joe Hart twice saved well from Liam Donnelly and Killie manager Derek McInnes was frustrated his side did not get a penalty for Stephen Welsh’s sliding challenge on Marley Watkins.

Neither referee John Beaton nor video assistant Willie Collum were convinced by Watkins’ appeals but it looked a risky challenge.

Celtic had left-back Greg Taylor back from a calf injury while Israel international Liel Abada was still absent after it was decided he was not in the right frame of mind to play following talks with manager Brendan Rodgers.

The game started amid a vocal tribute to the Palestinian people from the Celtic support, some of whom held up banners stating “30,000+ dead, 12,000+ children, end the genocide, end Zionism”.

On the park, Watkins saw a header saved from an early chance.

Adam Idah was showing some good touches up front for Celtic and one flick paved the way for Callum McGregor to play in Luis Palma. The winger had options but chose to cut inside and goalkeeper Will Dennis came out to block his shot.

The breakthrough came in the 32nd minute when Anthony Ralston ended a spell of tight passing as he noticed Furuhashi peeling off Joe Wright to the back post. The right-back floated a perfect ball for the the Japanese striker to loop the ball home.

Killie responded well and twice threatened following Danny Armstrong crosses. Hart stopped Donnelly’s close-ranger header and then Watkins went down clutching his ankle after Welsh’s sliding penalty-box challenge.

Referee John Beaton waved play on and the game continued after a short delay following the next stoppage.

Celtic had chances to ease the tension. McGregor shot over and Matt O’Riley was denied twice by Dennis and once by Corrie Ndaba’s goalline clearance.

Taylor was replaced by Bernabei on the hour mark in what looked a pre-planned move.

Killie sensed there was something to take from the game with Armstrong at the centre of much of their attacking play.

Donnelly met the winger’s inswinging free-kick and powered a header which Hart pushed over. Armstrong then had a chance of his own but mis-kicked a shot wide when Ndaba’s cross found him beyond the back post.

Celtic got back on top but substitute Paulo Bernardo shot over from 14 yards after getting the chance to make it a more comfortable final 10 minutes.

The home crowd grew audibly more anxious and Watson missed from close range before getting space at the back post to head into the bottom corner.

Celtic threw men forward but it was the visitors who came closer to a last-gasp winner when Murray broke and fired a low shot which Hart got down to save.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers admits Israel international Liel Abada may leave on loan if he cannot get his mind refocused on playing for the club.

Abada will again sit out Celtic’s cinch Premiership encounter with Kilmarnock on Saturday after not being in the right frame of mind to face St Mirren last weekend.

The 22-year-old has faced pressure in his home country because of support for Palestine among Celtic fans.

The situation flared up the day after the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, which led to more than 1,100 deaths plus the taking of hostages, when two banners among Celtic fans at Parkhead read: “Free Palestine” and “Victory to the Resistance”.

Palestine flags have continued to be flown among Celtic supporters amid Israel’s ongoing military assault on Gaza. More than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 68,000 wounded, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The Green Brigade ultras group have asked their fellow fans to join them in song ahead of the Kilmarnock match to pay tribute to the people of Palestine and Abada will not be present.

“It’s still the same situation,” Rodgers said. “I have had lots of conversations with Liel and I am really empathetic towards the issue he has. It’s more than football. It’s at a human level, so I have to respect that.

“He is training, he is working away, but this period is all about the mind and if you’re not quite right or ready, firstly I can’t take any risk with him, because we will always support the player, and obviously I also have to protect the squad as well.”

Rodgers took the then injured Abada out for dinner to discuss his situation in the wake of the October 7 attacks, and he is continuing to offer his support to the player, who did not rediscover his previous form after returning in December.

“I take a great responsibility, that’s why we are here,” the former Liverpool manager said. “My job isn’t just a football manager.

“This is a young guy, 22 years of age, far, far away from home. People can talk about what’s going on there and then they can forget about it. This is the reality for him, this is his life. Every single day, every night, families in a war.

“So it’s a really, really tough situation for him. On a human level, I have real, real empathy for him.

“There’s many situations I have had to deal with as a manager over time, and lots of them you don’t get on the coaching courses. You have to understand and sit in his shoes.

“It’s the sadness of it where he re-signed for us because he had great belief he could go on and develop, then he had a period out with injury and now coming back he has found it a real, real challenge. But I am here for him, to support him, and everything else is secondary to that.

“It’s my job and I will take the human aspect, like I have done with numbers of players before, and look after him.

“And when he’s ready, if he ever is ready, then he will be able to give us everything.”

That caveat opened up the prospect of Abada potentially negotiating a swift exit from Glasgow, perhaps on loan to a league with its transfer window open, before a more permanent parting of the ways in the summer.

When asked if a loan was now an option, Rodgers said: “It’s a possibility. But we’ll see. We will work together on it.”

Rangers moved level on points with cinch Premiership leaders Celtic with a 3-1 win over Ross County but their profligacy prevented them going top.

The Light Blues took the lead in the fifth minute through striker Cyriel Dessers and the home side then hit the woodwork twice amid an onslaught.

However, the second-bottom Staggies, with Don Cowie in charge for the first time following the departure of Derek Adams last week, unexpectedly levelled in the 25th minute with a Simon Murray strike.

Dessers grabbed his second in first-half added time to placate the Gers fans frustrated at the missed chances but there were more opportunities passed up in the second half before defender John Souttar eventually headed in a third late on.

After eventually catching up on fixtures with Celtic, the Govan side are level on points and goal difference with the Hoops but have scored four fewer than their Old Firm rivals.

Another huge crowd rolled up to Ibrox knowing a three-goal win against a club who had never beaten Rangers in 23 attempts would see the lead at the top change hands.

Philippe Clement made seven changes from Saturday’s 2-0 Scottish Gas Scottish Cup win over Ayr United.

Ridvan Yilmaz, John Lundstram, Tom Lawrence, Ross McCausland, Todd Cantwell, Rabbi Matondo and Dessers all returned while Cowie brought in Eamonn Brophy, Michee Efete, Ryan Leak, Josh Reid and Victor Loturi.

A sense of expectancy hung heavy in the air.

Dessers struck early, taking a pass from captain James Tavernier and fending off the attention of defender Leak before lobbing the ball over stranded Staggies keeper George Wickens and the Light Blues were up and running.

Wickens soon had to tip a powerful shot from Tavernier past the post for a corner, which the startled Dingwall side survived.

In the 10th minute Dessers latched on to a raking pass from left-back Yilmaz and beat Wickens only to see the ball rebound off the post.

Then Matondo raced onto a defence-splitting pass from midfielder Lundstram and curled the ball past the far post before Wickens tipped a shot from the wide man onto the bar and over.

Lawrence, Souttar, Tavernier and Dessers had further efforts of various quality before Murray stunned the home fans into silence with a confident volley from six yards from a delicious Brophy cross.

The mood inside the stadium darkened.

The Gers crowd looked on in astonishment as Leak stopped Dessers’ close-range shot after Wickens had spilled a Cantwell drive but the enigmatic striker made up for it by heading in a Tavernier cross seconds before the break which changed the atmosphere again.

January signing Oscar Cortes, the 20-year-old Colombian signed on loan from Lens, replaced Matondo at half-time and in the 52nd minute had a decent drive parried clear by the over-worked Wickens, who soon tipped a long-ranger from Cantwell past the post.

The pressure on the County goal was relentless but just after the hour-mark the Gers fans were relieved to see Efete head a County corner over the bar when he should have worked keeper Jack Butland.

Wickens made further saves from Lundstram, Lawrence and Dessers before the latter was replaced by Portuguese striker Fabio Silva.

In the 74th minute Cortes missed the target from 12 yards and, amid a myriad of attempts on the County goal, Wickens denied Cantwell and Cortes again.

But in the second of seven added minutes Souttar headed in a Tavernier cross but there was to be no later drama and the chance to strike a psychological blow was gone.

Stephen Welsh can draw on 15 years of pressure at Celtic as another season moves towards a tense and exciting run-in.

The 24-year-old defender came through the club’s youth ranks before making his debut in February 2020 during a 4–1 win away to Hamilton.

Welsh has had to fight for game time since but has taken over recently from injured Cameron Carter-Vickers and he was again paired with Liam Scales for the trip to St Mirren on Sunday.

The Scottish champions have been criticised at times this season for their performances but the 2-0 Scottish Gas Scottish Cup win in Paisley, which set up a quarter-final clash with Livingston next month, made it eight wins and a draw in their last nine games.

Celtic also lead Rangers by three points at the top of the cinch Premiership, albeit the Light Blues having the chance to go top against Ross County at Ibrox on Wednesday night with their game in hand.

Welsh, who signed a new four-year deal last August, said: “I’ve known the pressure for 15 years now. Every week you need to go and win.

“You enjoy it as well, you enjoy the pressure because you need to win. A draw or a defeat is a nightmare so yeah, we know the pressure and we stand up to it all the time.

“We are used to this. Every season the pressure for every Celtic player is huge.

“We deal with it really well. Especially the last couple of seasons, we have been very successful and it is about us maintaining the standards to be successful again and go and win the trophies that are available to us.

“There is always a determination in this group. Not only the quality but the character that we have.

“We have a lot of experienced players who have won trophies. We won a treble last season so the experience we have in the team is excellent.

“We take every game 100 per cent, every training session leads up to the next game so for us, it is normal for us to be under that pressure and we always deal with it very well.

“We are always strong together. We know that every team wants to beat Celtic and our job is to win games, perform well and win trophies for the club.”

Welsh is delighted to be back in the first team and enjoyed a tough test against the Buddies who succumbed to goals from Japanese duo Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda.

He said: “It was a frustrating first few months, I had a bad injury and was out for four or five months so to get back into the swing of things, that is my first 90 minutes in a while so delighted with the clean sheet as well. Joe Hart had to make a couple of saves but that is what he is there for.

“They are a physical team and they like to put balls in the  box.

“It is very effective for them. We had to deal with it and I thought we dealt with it well as a back four and Joe included.

“We are together, we are really a united team so we will move forward.”

Brendan Rodgers railed against the negative narrative around Celtic and him after reaching the quarter-finals of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup with a 2-0 win over St Mirren.

Despite sitting three points clear of Old Firm rivals Rangers at the top of the cinch Premiership, the Parkhead boss has come under fire for the Hoops’ style of play this season and also for his recruitment.

The holders were shorn of defenders Alistair Johnston, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Greg Taylor through injury but Japanese duo Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda netted against a spirited home side to earn a home quarter-final tie against Livingston.

Rodgers, who returned to Celtic Park for a second spell in the summer following the departure of Ange Postecoglou to Tottenham, noted that it is now eight wins and a draw in nine games for the Hoops – difficult to construe as any sort of a crisis.

He said: “It’s obviously (a narrative that’s) been created outside.

“But I don’t expect anything less to be honest. We just focus on ourselves.

“We are a winning club. When you’ve won consistently over a number of years, people will look to jump on you and bring us down – and bring me down.

“I am here to win. For sure we will have our day, and have many days going forward.

“We’ll get our influential players back and the squad will be very strong to the end of the season. We’ll continue to fight.

“We just have to prove a point to ourselves and our supporters. I think that’s always the best attitude. You are always looking to prove a point.

“It’s a part of the world where there is a lot of noise – and this year in particular when it (Celtic’s play) maybe hasn’t been as fluent.

“We get compared to the squad of last season but one, it’s not the same squad as last season, and two, a lot of those players who were starting last season have not been playing all of this season.

“But it hasn’t stopped the negativity.

“But I use it in a different way and look logically at it. We’ve missed some important players for long periods and we made some changes in the summer.

“This is a young group of players here who are giving everything, who are looking to develop and improve. If they keep doing that we’ll keep winning games.”

On Israel winger Liel Abada’s omission from the squad altogether, Rodgers said: “He wasn’t in a right frame of mind.

“I’ve spoke a lot to Liel and it has been a challenging time for him. I just felt when he came into the game (at Hibernian) the other night, it just wasn’t him.

“So we gave him this chance to have a few days and clear his mind. I’ll have a chat with him again next week, see where he’s at.”

Johnston picked up a head injury in the midweek win over Hibs and Rodgers said: “We’re just waiting to see again on him.

“A slight fracture on the side. The thinking is we’ll have a look in 10 days to see where he’s at.

“But it could be 10 days to four weeks. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson was both “proud” and “frustrated” about his side’s performance as they exited the cup.

He said: “I’m proud of them, but frustrated at the same time because we had chances and we weren’t clinical enough

“There has to be credit given to Celtic for the two chances they take, they are clinical, and they defended very, very well in their box.

“There were two or three blocks that were fantastic, and ultimately they were better in both 18-yard boxes.

“So, for all the stuff we did in between, they deserved to win the game.”

Japanese duo Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda scored as holders Celtic beat spirited St Mirren 2-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup.

Furuhashi finished off a fine move against the run of play after 15 minutes to give the cinch Premiership leaders a slender half-time lead at the SMiSA Stadium.

Alex Gogic had come close a couple of times for the Buddies in the first half but the Saints could not find a breakthrough and Maeda pounced from close range in the 52nd minute to double Celtic’s lead.

St Mirren could not get back into the game and will rue missed chances and although it was not a sparkling performance from a Celtic side who have been unconvincing recently, it kept intact boss Brendan Rodgers’ record of not having lost a Scottish Cup tie in two spells at the club.

Last season’s domestic treble winners did not arrive in Paisley without concerns.

Despite sitting three points clear of Old Firm rivals Rangers at the top of the Premiership, many fans have been at loggerheads with the club, from complaints about the board’s perceived resistance to splashing the cash in the recent transfer window to Rodgers and his team’s style of play.

The Hoops boss brought in Furuhashi to support birthday boy Adam Idah, who turned 23 on Sunday, up front with defender Anthony Ralston and winger Luis Palma also coming into the side.

St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson was unable to play on-loan midfielder Kwon Hyeok-kyu against his parent club, while James Bolton was suspended and James Scott dropped to the bench as Charles Dunne, Keanu Baccus and Lewis Jamieson returned for the home side, who made an encouraging start – only to be hit by a stunning goal from a sweeping Celtic move.

Hoops skipper Callum McGregor sent Palma running in to acres of space down the left and when he squared to Kyogo he assertively side-footed his finish past Buddies keeper Zach Hemming for his 12th goal of the season.

Back came Saints, forcing Celtic to defend again while being unable to really test Joe Hart, although the Celtic keeper was fortunate on the half-hour mark when Gogic rattled the bar with a shot on the turn following a Caolan Boyd-Munce corner.

Another swift Celtic move in the 38th minute saw Maeda knock a Palma cross past the post, before Baccus crashed into the VAR monitor on the sidelines leaving a technician to try to reassemble it.

Palma was booked by referee David Dickinson for diving inside the St Mirren box before a spectacular overhead kick from Gogic drew a great save from Hart, as Saints piled on the pressure.

Celtic should have scored again at the start of the second half.

On-loan Norwich striker Idah had a good opportunity from a Ralston pass but missed the target with a shot on the slide.

However, Celtic did not have to wait much longer to make it 2-0 as Palma cross from the left was met by Matt O’Riley and when his shot rebounded off the bar, Maeda knocked the ball into the net from six yards.

St Mirren kept plugging away as they chased a foothold back into the game.

On the hour-mark Greg Kiltie failed to connect properly with a Scott Tanser cross and the ball sped wide and substitute Scott came close in the 71st minute with an angled drive.

There was more defending to do for Celtic as the home side kept going all the way to the final whistle without reward, while there were also chances on the break for the Parkhead outfit to stretch their lead.

John Barnes was sacked as Celtic manager on this day in 2000.

The club’s decision to part company with the former Liverpool and England winger came two days after a humiliating Scottish Cup loss to second-tier Inverness.

Barnes had been in charge for just eight months and oversaw only 29 games.

Pressure had been building since a run of five defeats in eight games in the autumn, including a 4-2 reverse at Rangers in Barnes’ first Old Firm derby.

Form did not markedly improve and the cup shock – which prompted the memorable newspaper headline ‘Super Caley Go Ballistic Celtic Are Atrocious’ – proved the final straw.

Despite beginning his reign with 12 wins in his first 13 games, Barnes had struggled to win over fans and the 3-1 defeat by Caley was widely viewed as the club’s worst result in 30 years.

Director of football Kenny Dalglish said: “John Barnes is an admirable fellow and someone I think will go on in later years to establish himself as very successful in managing a football club. Unfortunately it won’t be at Celtic.”

Dalglish, who had brought his former Liverpool star Barnes to Parkhead, took over in a caretaker capacity for the remainder of the season.

He guided the Hoops to League Cup success before Martin O’Neill was appointed as Barnes’ full-time successor in the summer.

Barnes’ managerial career never took off as Dalglish predicted. He struggled to get back into the game after his ill-fated spell at Celtic and it was not until 2008, as manager of the Jamaica national side, he returned to management.

He was appointed Tranmere boss the following summer but he was sacked after winning just two of 11 league games at the start of the 2009-10 season.

Celtic are waiting on the full diagnosis of Alistair Johnston’s injury but fear he has suffered a fracture.

The right-back will miss Sunday’s Scottish Gas Scottish Cup fifth-round tie against St Mirren in Paisley after being carried off on a stretcher and taken to hospital following an aerial challenge against Hibernian.

The Canada international, who was caught late in the side of his head by Hibernian defender Nectarios Triantis, was at Celtic’s Lennoxtown training centre on Friday but could be facing a lay-off.

“We are just waiting on the results of a scan,” boss Brendan Rodgers said.

“He won’t be available for the weekend. We think he has a slight fracture on the side of the head. We don’t know (how long he will be out), we are just waiting to see.”

Celtic have further reinforcements after the reintroduction of Daizen Maeda at Easter Road, with South Korea pair Oh Hyeon-gyu and Yang Hyun-jun back from Asian Cup duty following their country’s semi-final defeat by Jordon.

Yang came off the bench in Tuesday’s game in Qatar while Oh was an unused sub.

Rodgers said: “They have been away for a period of time but they look fit and well and trained really well earlier.”

Greg Taylor remains a doubt after missing three games with a calf injury.

“He is very close,” Rodgers said. “I’m not sure he will make the weekend but if not he should be available for the following weekend.”

Cameron Carter-Vickers is back out on the training pitch following his latest hamstring problem but will not be ready for the weekend.

Adam Idah detailed his confidence from 12 yards after brushing off the pressure to net a stoppage-time winner on his first Celtic start.

The on-loan Norwich forward enjoyed a dream full debut as he scored penalties near the start and end of a 2-1 victory over Hibernian.

Celtic looked set to drop points for the second game running until Kyogo Furuhashi earned a penalty following Joe Newell’s late tackle, and Idah sent former Hoops goalkeeper David Marshall the wrong way for the second time in the game after switching sides.

The Republic of Ireland international, who has a 100 per cent record from the spot for club and country, said: “I have taken penalties my whole career and didn’t think much of it. I was confident enough I was going to score.

“That’s the mindset you have to have when you take penalties and thankfully it hit the back of the net.

“It was a bit crazy. It was an amazing feeling. To get the goal and the three points was fantastic and to do it in front of the away fans was unbelievable. To see their reaction and to get a last-minute goal was fantastic. I’m delighted with it.

“The main thing was to get the three points and it was a tough game but overall I’m proud of the lads.”

The 2-1 victory restored Celtic’s three-point lead over Rangers in the cinch Premiership and Idah’s penalty could prove crucial given the Light Blues have a game in hand.

Idah, who now has 10 goals for the season for Norwich, Ireland and Celtic, said: “It was a big game, a big three points and hopefully we can push on now and get more wins.

“One of my aims when I joined the club was to score goals. It’s the most goals I have scored in a season and it drives me and motivates me to push on and get more goals and get wins and hopefully help the team.”

Brendan Rodgers hailed the “heart and soul” of his Celtic side after a last-gasp triumph at Hibernian restored their three-point lead over Rangers in the cinch Premiership.

Adam Idah scored penalties at either end of his first Celtic start to seal a 2-1 win and Rodgers’ first victory at Easter Road on his fifth visit.

Hibs had the better chances after Dylan Levitt’s equaliser on the hour mark but Joe Newell’s late challenge on Kyogo Furuhashi allowed Idah the chance to make himself an instant hero.

Rodgers said: “I said to the players before the game, listen, whatever has happened before, you have 14 games left.

“You’re not going to win the title tonight or lose it, but you can make a big psychological impact by coming away to a tough ground and winning.”

Rodgers admitted his side lacked the creativity and finesse to capitalise on their first-half possession and the composure to play through Hibernian’s press after the interval.

“But what I never doubt about these players and I said to them before the game, to get through and win games, we need to play with heart and soul, and the players showed immense heart to play through to the very end and get the victory,” he added.

“We will play better. We have to play better. It’s not the level I want to see. But we will go away and analyse it and look to be better in our next game.”

Three Celtic players have missed spot-kicks this season but on-loan Norwich forward Idah continued his perfect career penalty record.

“He had taken six penalties before and scored a great penalty against Holland for the Republic of Ireland,” Rodgers said.

“You just see how he addresses it, he knows he’s a penalty taker. Against David Marshall, who has had a fantastic career, there is a psychological test there as well. And he came through that. It was a great night for him.”

Hibs head coach Nick Montgomery felt Celtic got the breaks his team lacked from referee Nick Walsh and video assistant Andrew Dallas.

The first penalty came after Nectarios Triantis caught Alistair Johnston with a late aerial challenge that put the Canada defender in hospital.

Montgomery claimed Alexandro Bernabei had fouled Martin Boyle in the box – the winger was booked for diving – and was fortunate not to be penalised for an incident with Lewis Miller.

Montgomery said: “It was a real disappointing way to lose the game. I thought we were more than worthy of three points, we had some great chances.

“There were plenty of incidents that if the ref went over to the VAR, I think we would have had a penalty on Martin Boyle. 

“Watching it back in slow motion, he gets caught from behind on his quad. He’s got a dead leg, he is limping around in there. It’s irrelevant how he goes down. If the ref looks at it, he has no option to give a penalty.

“And there was a foul on Lewis Miller where if he goes over to the VAR, I think that’s possibly a different colour card.

“The first penalty, Nectar is committed, he has gone to win the header. There’s no malice in it whatsoever. It’s two players going to win a header.

“If that happens anywhere else on the field, the game is stopped, the players get treatment and it’s maybe a drop ball. But I haven’t watched that one back closely.

“The second one, I watched it once. It maybe looks like it was just outside the box, Joe pulls out. Not one person in the stadium thought about asking for a penalty.”

After Johnston was carried off on a stretcher with a facial injury, Rodgers said: “He had gone to hospital. Some of the guys were just saying he had text through on social media or whatever it is that he is okay.”