Martin O'Neill issues honest verdict on Celtic's win over Kilmarnock, and he is spot on

Celtic boss Martin O'Neill knows the result was always going to be more important than any style points against Kilmarnock on Sunday.

The Bhoys picked up all three points but were far from their best against struggling Killie, ultimately winning 1-0 thanks to a Liam Scales goal, although the foul that saw Kasper Hogh's earlier goal ruled out was certainly debatable.

It has been a big week for O'Neill's men, who kept themselves in the Europa League with a huge win over Besiktas at home on Thursday night, and they have protected their four-point lead at the top of the Premiership with a win here, albeit Rangers do have a game in hand.

"After Thursday night's exertions, I thought we were not at our very, very best today," O'Neill told Celtic TV after the game. "Having said that, we created a number of good chances in the game. Sam Johnson makes a big, big save - a double save for us in the first 90 seconds - and we're just really delighted to have won. Big, big effort Thursday night, coming back on Sunday again, and we got the breakthrough and we won."

Celtic could have put the game to bed late in the second half, when Benjamin Nygren saw a poorly placed penalty saved, and while it didn't lead to too many nervy moments, Killie did manage to flash a cross across goal to provide one scary moment.

Asked about his side's inability to put the game to bed, O'Neill added: "Oh, we could have done. Even in the last 15 minutes, when we missed a penalty. You have to make sure when you're on top in the game, if you can, bury it. We were unable to do that throughout the whole 90-odd minutes, and the penalty would have left us more comfortable."

This game was always going to be about the win and little more. Celtic have played midweek and on the weekend of each week since the last international break, which means four and a half weeks of relentless football.

The Hoops do not have a deep squad in terms of talent, which means while rotation is possible, it's not particularly desirable, and a lot of these players have had little to no break.

It's inevitable that we are going to see some tiredness, and we did on Sunday. Celtic lacked zip and that top-end intensity, and it's always going to be tricky without that.

But they picked up all three points and go into the break with wind in their sails, which is all that matters.