Celtic returned to the top of the SPL with a comfortable 2-1 victory over Hamilton to ease the pressure on under-fire boss Tony Mowbray.

Celtic had not won in four games before Shaun Maloney and Scott McDonald scored in the opening half-hour at the New Douglas Park to secure three precious points.

The Bhoys now lead Rangers by one point and Mowbray knows just how important it was for his players to bounce back from their recent dip in form.

He said: “The players were under a bit more pressure than normal but we managed to go out there and get all three points.

“We’re now top of the table and they showed some good character and resilience but the bottom line was that we weren’t really threatened too often.

“It’s all about picking-up points and making sure we’re getting the victories we need – we would’ve been disappointed if we didn’t take all three points.”