GIORGOS GIAKOUMAKIS announced himself to Celtic Park by scoring on his first start to see off St Johnstone, and he may just have presented Ange Postecoglou with one of those headaches that managers don’t mind now and again in the process.

The Greek striker followed up his impressive cameo against Ferencvaros by grabbing the crucial opening goal against St Johnstone, but if he is to make the central attacking role his own, the question arises of just what to do with Kyogo Furuhashi.

Here, Postecoglou deployed him on the right of the attacking trident, with Joao Jota on the other side.

Despite playing in wide positions in the past for Vissel Kobe, Furuhashi has never looked quite as comfortable when shuttled out to the wings since arriving at Celtic, and he is certainly less able to use his brilliant movement to the devastating effect we have witnessed when he is up through the middle.

There was more than enough about Celtic though to see off a St Johnstone side that tried to frustrate the hosts in the manner to which we have all become accustomed. The eventual downfall of Callum Davidson’s men came from self-inflicted wounds yet again though after their calamitous performance against Livingston last time out.

Josip Juranovic – who himself gave off the vibe of a square peg in a round hole at times at left-back – took on a shot that was blocked and spun high up into the air in the St Johnstone box. Callum Booth was under it, but the action on the ball deceived the left-back and he missed his attempted clearance.

Suddenly, Anthony Ralston was in, and the Celtic right-back controlled his cross well on the half-volley for Giakoumakis to thump home on the full volley from the centre of the box.

The most intriguing thing about the game to that point had been the debut performance of the striker, with the forward trying desperately to get involved as Celtic enjoyed swathes of possession without really giving him anything to get his teeth into.

There is nothing wrong with his work ethic though. The 26-year-old may be billed as something of a penalty box striker, but he showed here he is willing to put himself about for the team too when the need arises. Indeed, the biggest cheer in the 34 minutes before Celtic broke the deadlock came when Giakoumakis hounded two Saints defenders and forced them into ceding possession.

All in all it was a more than satisfactory hour from Giakoumakis before he was replaced by Mikey Johnston, with Furuhashi immediately looking more at home as he was redeployed at the point of the Celtic attack.

A neat combination between Furuhashi and Jota almost got Celtic their second, but the pair couldn’t quite conjure the magic that had produced that sublime goal against Ferencvaros in midweek and Clark managed to save the Portuguese winger’s effort.

The game had rather hit a lull, but it sparked to life as a flashpoint between Chris Kane and Cameron Carter-Vickers saw both men collect yellow cards and Celtic Park suddenly taking on a tousier atmosphere both on and off the park as the hosts raged against the perceived injustice of it all.

The rise in temperature seemed to jag Celtic into life, and Jota and Furuhashi again combined to give St Johnstone a problem they couldn’t cope without resorting to foul means.

A dinked pass from Jota found Furuhashi sprinting into the box where he was upended by Liam Gordon, with referee Nick Walsh pointing immediately to the spot. After captain Callum McGregor had missed one against Ferencvaros on Europa League duty on Tuesday, it was Juranovic – who scored one against Real Betis in Seville – who again produced a composed finish from 12 yards, tucking home to Clark’s left with the keeper going the other way.

That gave the scoreline a truer reflection of the pattern of the game. St Johnstone had started brightly and David Wotherspoon might have done better than drag a volley wide via a slight deflection, but they offered very little thereafter in an attacking sense.

Celtic had taken control of the ball, and much like the match in midweek, showed patience to move their opponents around and eventually wear them down.

They might have got a third late on when substitute Johnston – who has looked lively since coming back into the team - cut in from the left and curled a right-foot effort off the far post, but they will be more than happy to rack up their third 2-0 win in succession.

It seems that Angeball has evolved from those early chaotic days of the season then, with controlled attacking football at one end and relentless industry going the other way earning that third successive clean sheet.

The next step may well be to find the right blend from Giakoumakis, Furuhashi, Jota, Liel Abada and Johnston up top. And with James Forrest still to come back into the reckoning too, it is a pleasant poser for Postecoglou to ponder.