James Forrest and Stefan Johansen scored the goals that sent Celtic eight points clear of Aberdeen but Ronny Deila left Paisley voicing his concerns about the pitch at St Mirren Park.
Over the last two months the hoops boss has watched his side’s passing game grind to a halt on the ploughed fields at Hampden and Tannadice but the surface at Paisley seemed fine.
There were no divots, bare patches or other obvious obstacles but it’s rare for a St Mirren v Celtic match to be an example of the beautiful game.
Forrest’s opener was an exception- finishing off a great passing move after Scott Brown had set Adam Matthews free on the right- but there was a feeling of irritation about the Celtic boss as his side moved eight points clear of Aberdeen with nine games left to play.
A losing manager can point at excuses to cover his own failings but after picking up full points Deila was highly critical of the pitch- and others in the top flight.
“The pitch tonight was better than some we have played on but the pitches in Scotland are terrible,” the Celtic boss stated. “If you want to develop players and get passing football into your team, it’s difficult when the ball is bouncing all the time.
“It’s much easier for other teams to just sit behind the ball and try to break down our play. It’s much better to play on an artificial surface than on this.
“If we are going to develop good young players, we need to have a good surface to play and train on. If not, you get fighters. If you want skills and technique, you have to play on better surfaces.”
A penalty from Johansen in the 79th minute tied up the points with Celtic next in action at home to Partick Thistle on Wednesday night.
