Celtic's narrow 1-0 home win over Inverness was enough to send them seven points clear of second placed Rangers. Boss Gordon Strachan praised midfield duo Shunsuke Nakamura and Shaun Maloney after they combined to create the winning goal.

"For Nakamura to get the ball up and down with not too much pace in it, was the best part," he said.

"It was a clever run by Shaun, he knew that probably the only person on the pitch who could play that pass was Nakamura.

"If the ball had gone to a lot of other people, I don't think Shaun would have made that run.

"But that was two good players combining."

The victory gave Strachan's side their 12th straight SPL win, but the Celtic boss played down the significance of his side's lead in the championship race.

"The SPL never surprises me," he said.

"But this run shows that we can deal with disappointment and injuries and win when we are not at our best.

"Also, in this run, we've had Champions League games, League Cup games and six players away with international teams a lot of times.

"So the players have had a lot to deal with recently."