Celtic manager Ronny Deila says it will take time to see the best of his side after they earned their first victory in five matches following a 2-1 defeat of Aberdeen.
It was a welcome three points for Deila after a rocky start to life as Celtic manager which had seen his side without a win since August 16.
The Glasgow giants stumbled out of the Champions League to NK Maribor and failed to pick up a win away to Inverness Caledonian Thistle and promoted Dundee in their previous matches.
However, following the two-week international break Deila was able to field an almost full-strength side against the Dons with new signings Aleksandar Tonev and Stefan Scepovic making their debuts while Swedish striker John Guidetti, on-loan from Manchester City, made his bow as a second half substitute.
The new-look Celtic were impressive in the early stages with Jason Denayer giving them a seventh minute lead before Kris Commons doubled their advantage seconds into the second half.
A lack of concentration in defence allowed David Goodwillie to pull one back with his first goal for the Dons on the hour mark but the Hoops held on to seal the win that moves them up to fourth in the Scottish Premiership.
However, Celtic only trail joint leaders Hamilton and Inverness by three points with the Glasgow side having a game in hand over their opponents.
"It will take time to see their best as some of them haven't played matches in a while. They need to get settled with the team and thinking the right way and then we will grow," Celtic manager Deila said.
"There were spells in the game that we were really good and you could see the potential in this team.
"We should have killed the game much quicker than we did but I think there were spells in the first half when we played at a very high level."
The Hoops were given a boost before kick-off as captain Scott Brown returned from a hamstring injury nearly a month ahead of schedule.
"He is our leader and it's fantastic to have him back," Deila added.
"I had to start laughing in the first 10 minutes as he was tackling the whole pitch. He is so important for us but he got tired like the rest of the team."
Celtic travel to Austria in midweek as they prepare to start their Europa League campaign away to Salzburg but Norwegian boss Deila is quietly confident his side can take something from the match.
"They are a good team. I think they are very disappointed they are not in the Champions League, like we are, but I think we have a good chance," Deila added.
Aberdeen's performance would have given manager Derek McInnes some encouragement but it's a third defeat in five games as the Dons struggle to replicate the form that saw them win the League Cup and finish third in the league last season.
"Celtic caused us problems, Commons particularly, in the first half but for all that we only lost a goal from a set piece in the first half," McInnes said.
"It was a good delivery in but I still expect us to deal with it so I was disappointed with that.
"I thought in the second half we were far better other than losing the goal at the start. It was a ridiculous goal to lose and it made our job more difficult."
Source: AFP
