MOVE along, move along, nothing to see here.

Celtic delivered a win at Parkhead which was so unfussy, so quietly emphatic, it entirely disguised what a significant night this could have become in their season. They have choked and stuttered under Ronny Deila so far but, here, they convincingly emerged to stride in to the League Cup quarter-finals. If the new manger was in need of a calming, soothing performance after recent turbulence, then here it was.

Yes, there were moments when Hearts grabbed a shovel and helped dig their own grave. They missed a one-on-one chance in the first half, blasted a hopeless penalty into orbit in the second, then scored an own goal to wrap up Celtic's scoring. Had Osman Sow converted that penalty and made it 1-1 this tie might have delivered a wholly different narrative. Instead, within seconds there was a penalty at the other end which Kris Commons scored to add to John Guidetti's opening goal. Adam Eckersley bundled an own goal into the Hearts net for 3-0.

It was a sapping, dispiriting way to lose. Hearts quietly fancied themselves last night and they were entitled to that, but even without their opponents' assistance Celtic's superiority was unanswerable. There was not the flat, tepid play which undid the champions in their weekend draw against Motherwell. To borrow the phrase currently in fashion with politicians, Deila's feet would have been held to the fire if they'd lost this. Instead they march on as the natural favourites to lift the season's first major trophy. Emilio Izaguirre and Scott Brown both had fine games.

Parkhead had that slightly other-worldly feel it can have there are just 15,522 souls rattling around inside.

The top tier, closed for the night, was a sweeping tundra of empty seats which made the game feel subdued and low key. The bottom tier wasn't especially busy either although a noisy Hearts contingent helped spark a bit of an atmosphere until the goals bled the life out of them. Celtic have been vulnerable on nights like this, the players unable to rouse themselves when many supporters deliver a message by staying away. Exactly a year ago they went out of the League Cup in similar circumstances. Would they suffer another Morton?

Hearts began with hunger and bite. Robbie Neilson had fielded weakened teams in their two earlier cup ties this season (contributing to a sore 4-1 defeat at Livingston in the Petrofac Training Cup). There was no prospect of him sending out the deputies here.

Memories remain vivid of Celtic running riot with a 7-0 Tynecastle win in the Scottish Cup last December. Neilson set his team out in a 4-1-4-1, intent on presenting a barrier to Cetic as the platform to take the game to them.

At first they forced corners, kept Celtic on the back foot, and reduced Jason Denayer to one especially crucial interception to hack a ball away in the goalmouth. Had it not been for that, Callum Paterson's cross would have found Osman Sow for a certain goal. Hearts had the best of the midfield exchanges for the opening 10 minutes but when Celtic began to exert themselves Brown grew into the game and Prince Buaben receded. Celtic began to create. Guidetti wrestled himself free from Alim Ozturk but somehow shanked a great chance wide of the post. A delicious Callum McGregor pass threaded the ball through for Commons only for Neil Alexander to deny him. The goalkeeper was also a match for Brown's ferocious, snapped half-volley.

This was the Izaguirre of old, taking on wide midfielders and right-backs, attacking the byeline and hurling great deliveries into the penalty area. He was the architect of Celtic's breakthrough goal in the 24th minute when his cross was inadequately cleared by Danny Wilson - he tried an inelegant header and knocked the ball towards trouble - and Guidetti reacted to pounce and crack a finish into the net.

Guidetti was the figurehead of a 4-2-3-1 with McGregor on the right, Commons in the hole and Anthony Stokes left. He has yet to show what quality he will bring to Celtic but he is an agreeable presence on the pitch, alert, mobile and eager for the ball. Eckersley hooked a ball away to deny him a second goal and Alexander's excellent reflex save prevented a Morgaro Gomis own goal.

Hearts were holding on, and then their first big chance came when Izaguirre made his only error of the night. It should have been a costly one when he underhit a pass-back and sent Jamie Walker through on Craig Gordon. Walker's nerve deserted him and he put too much power in his shot, cracking the ball off the face of the bar.

Having survived one major scare Celtic then came through another. Virgil van Dijk made a challenge on Sow which was just about a foul. This was Hearts' moment, but Sow's high penalty was pathetic.

With what would have felt like crushing inevitability to the Hearts fans, Celtic had a penalty of their own within two minutes and naturally they buried it with utter certainty. Ozturk put in a naive challenge on Guidetti and from Commons converted the kick. So a tie that could have gone to 1-1 was instead at 2-0 within a couple of minutes.

Not for long. Guidetti's cross to the back post prompted Eckersley to try to chest the ball back to Alexander.

He got it horribly wrong and squirted the ball into the corner of his own net. And, with half an hour left, that was that.