Ronnie Deila last night paid tribute to the striker he left out of his starting line-up but stated his belief that even after coming off the bench to score a stunning hat-trick there is much better to come from Leigh Griffiths.

 

The Celtic manager described the contribution of striker, who took his season's tally to 15 with three strikes in 19 second half minutes, as "fabulous", adding: "You can't do it any better. His contribution was excellent."

He said he has seen considerable progress made by a player who has always had natural talent, but whose lifestyle has been called into question, but sees room for more.

"He's improved a lot, he's training well and as a 24-hour athlete he's been better and better, even though he eats cakes on the bench sometimes," joked Deila.

He then continued in more serious vein, saying: "It's much, much better, but still it's just the start. He has to keep working on small things to get better and then we will get even more goals and good performances out of him."

What he particularly seemed to enjoy was the example given in responding so emphatically to being left out of the team.

"That's what I expect from the other subs as well. You can be angry but the only way to get back into the team is to prove that you deserve to play like Leigh did today," said Deila.

"Also we have to think like a team. Sometimes you are on the bench but to come off it and make a big contribution is very important for a team."

Last night's win means that if both teams keep winning Celtic will have the chance to win the title on nearest rivals Aberdeen's home patch, but Deila is in ruthless mood.

"Hopefully we will win it before that," he said.

"It's possible if they lose a game and we win we can do it. We want to finish as early as possible. Today was a very important win and we are into a very important week . If we can go into the last five games at least eight points ahead we have a very, very good chance."