The shifting breezes of a turbulent season for Celtic received the fairest of winds at rain-soaked Celtic Park today.
The Scottish champions recorded a third successive victory as triumphs against Ross County and FC Astra were followed by the garnering of three points through goals by John Guidetti and Stefan Scepovic. 
The fair wind that blew Celtic to fourth place in the league was signalled by the hand of Manuel Pascali , the Kilmarnock captain. As Celtic huffed and puffed in the face of a fearless Ayrshire side, the Italian pulled back Scepovic as he ran on to a Callum McGregor pass in the 35th minute. 
This immediately became the classic case of triple jeopardy. Pascali was sent off by Willie Collum, the previously enterprising Alexei Eremenko was consequently replaced by Lee Ashcroft in a move by Allan Johnston to maintain defensive stability, and Guidetti thrashed the free-kick through a wall that was as porous as a stringed semmit.
A match that had been evenly poised - with Eremenko twice finding Yope Adebayi in space behind the Celtic defence - now drifted inevitably in one direction. The margin of victory could have been more substantial as Celtic exploited both their numerical superiority and their increasing confidence to place Kilmarnock under almost unrelenting pressure. Scepovic's second goal, converting a Mubarak Wakaso cross in the 64th minute, should have been one of many. The champions were restricted to two goals through fine goalkeeping by the 20-year-old Conor Brennan, who denied Guidetti and Scepovic on multiple occasions and was himself rescued by the redoubtable Mark Connolly, who headed a shot by the Swede off the line. 
What had been initially troublesome for Celtic became almost routine. The enterprise and threat had been knocked out of Kilmarnock by the departure of their skipper and by the tactical sacrifice that was the replacement of Eremenko. Celtic were thus allowed the space and the time to bolster both their belief and their points tally.
The victory will, of course, be welcomed by Ronny Deila, the Celtic manager, who spent the international break mourning a home defeat to Hamilton Academical. Tonight he can reflect on a comprehensive win in Dingwall, the topping of the Europa League group and the dismissal of a Kilmarnock outfit who have impressed this season.
The Norwegian, too, will be heartened by performances from his main players. Scott Brown was predictably combative in central midfield with his clashes with Jamie Hamill adding heat to a chilly afternoon. More pertinently, his passing was crisp and accurate, particularly when finding space on the flanks. His partner, Stefan Johansen, underlined his significance.
With Adam Matthews gently coming back to his pacy self and Charlie Mulgrew and Leigh Griffiths coming on as substitutes, the Celtic squad is growing in strength. With Mikael Lustig resting on the bench, Deila now has his best players available.
Crucially, though, the strikers are finding themselves on the end of chances. This may have been largely a result of a diminished Kilmarnock but it was also down to the skill of Guidetti and the movement of Scepovic. The 24-year-old Serb does not fully convince and he could and perhaps should have added to his tally today but he scored in a victory and that might prompt increased confidence and sharpened execution on front of goal.
Guidetti has for long been a figure who has not quite franked his talent with the currency of unabashed achievement.The 22-year-old offered hints today that he may yet prove to be a striker who can thrive at the highest level. He was cheered off at the end by the crowd and was, metaphorically at least, carrried aloft by reporters in the press room after a press conference that referenced the winning of a quadruple, the cooking of tacos and the possibility of remaining at Celtic beyond his loan spell. If the Swede is shy, he disguises it perfectly.
The mood for Kilmarnock will be resigned rather than deeply sombre. They approached their task in Glasgow with confidence and resolution and were rewarded with excellent performances from Connolly, Hamill and Obadeyi and a sensational one from their goalkeeper. The rest of Johnston's side played well. 
There was, though, the feeling in the immediate aftermath of the match that this result had a profound significance even if the Celtic performance was far from convincing. Another league failure at Celtic Park would have increased the pressure on Deila ahead of a League Cup tie against Partick Thistle on Wednesday and the visit of Inverness Caledonian Thistle on Saturday.
Instead, Deila now has room to breathe. He switched his formation to a 4-4-2 from his preferred 4-3-3 but this is an indication of the resources available to him, though the suspicion remains that he may have to make a decision between Scepovic and Guidetti rather than have them as a double act.
This, though, is for the future. Deila can exult in a present where the storm clouds over his head have been blown away. He has learned enough in his brief sojourn in Glasgow, however, to know that they can can and probably will drift towards him again in the course of an already intriguing season.