Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou watched his side rack up a third 2-0 win in the space of a week and he praised his side for showing patience against a stubborn Saints defence.
Giorgos Giakoumakis marked his first start with the Hoops with an opening strike which was followed by a Josip Juranovic penalty which sent the Hoops to within one point of the Premiership summit after a comfortable win over St Johnstone.
The Hoops gaffer was delighted to see Giakoumakis get himself off the mark for his Celtic career and saluted his players for keeping their cool to break down the visitors.
He said: "I knew it was going to be a difficult game, one where we were not going to get a helluva lot of space, particularly in and around their box. We had to be disciplined and patient with our football and I felt we did that.
"There weren’t many times we got frustrated or over-played things – we stayed calm and composed.
"Also we were clinical when we did get the chance. That was key, we took our chance really well."
Giakoumakis struck with a clinical volley from Anthony Ralston's clipped ball following a mistake from Callum Booth.
But despite the finish, Postecoglou insisted getting a goal wasn't the most important thing for the 26-year-old as he continues to settle into his new home.
He said: "You know what strikers are like, there's no striker in the world that feels good unless he is scoring goals.
"Particularly when you come to a new club and a new environment.
"For me, whether he scored or not wasn’t going to be as important. I think he did what we needed to today.
"But I know for him getting that goal is going to be pleasing and hopefully he can build from there.
"You can never be overloaded with options but it’s great to see we have those options in attack now.
"What’s also pleasing is the way we are playing. We are keeping a consistent level of performance and we want to maintain that consistency.
"Our performances have been good in all the games since the break so from that point of view it’s pleasing but we have just got to keep going.
"I was really pleased to see Mikey Johnston back because he looked really good in pre-season.
"I know how talented he is but the key for him was to get his body healthy and be really patient with him.
"He is now getting more game time and he is a talented player. The way we play I know he can have a huge impact.
"He just needs to stay healthy and keep improving his game.
"Hopefully James Forrest is not too far away either. "
