Rather unsurprisingly, Celtic manager Gordon Strachan wasn’t exactly jumping for joy after he watched his team defeat St Mirren 1-0 in the first game of the Scottish Premier League season. The Bhoys were far from convincing and were considered by some to be lucky to even win the game.

Speaking to the assembled press after the game, Strachan said that his team only had ‘four good players’ and that the team performance ‘wasn’t as good as expected’. I know what you’re thinking – it didn’t exactly take a genius to work this one out. It was obvious to everyone that Celtic weren’t at their best. The more interesting comments from Strachan came with reference to the pre-match antics where they celebrated last’s year’s title win. The Celtic boss said that ‘unfurling the flag maybe takes the edge off the game’. This was, of course, a point I touched upon during my reflection of the St Mirren game in my Sunday blog.

However, it can’t be used as an excuse for the performance and I think Strachan knows that. He is realistic enough to realise that Celtic must perform better. Not only in order to pick up victories, but to satisfy the Celtic Park crowd with encouraging displays. This is because in terms of Scottish Premier League betting , Celtic are expected to secure comfortable victories most weeks and anything less than this will be treated as unsatisfactory by the expectant fan base.

Another major talking point after Sunday’s game was the penalty awarded to Celtic that won them the game. Barry Robson converted the spot-kick after Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink was brought down in the area. St Mirren were unhappy with the referee’s decision but Strachan believes it was fair on his Celtic side. He said that Hesselink should have had a penalty awarded a few minutes before when he was brought down by St Mirren keeper Mark Howard. Therefore, Celtic shouldn’t be begrudged their eventual penalty reward.

That’s enough about the game and the reaction to it for one day. Let’s talk about Marc Crosas who was paraded in front of the Celtic fans before Sunday’s fixture. It certainly seems that he is in buoyant mood after signing a four-year-deal with the Scottish Champions. The 20-year-old said that to have 60,000 fans cheering for him before he has even kicked a ball was ‘amazing’. He went on to say that he expects to add to the team and ‘show all of his qualities’ in the coming weeks.

I am hopeful he can deliver the goods. I have never seen him play though, so I can’t expect too much of him. He might be the missing link in Celtic’s midfield and then again he might not. We are going to have to wait and see. I won't be placing any football betting money on him excelling - not at this stage. I would actually like to see Strachan focus on strengthening his defence now that Crosas is on board.

Of course, it is a rather complex agreement that Celtic have with Barcelona. The Spanish club have the right to buy back Crosas in two years time for £1.65m with Celtic retaining 25% of his worth. So, in affect, it’s a two year loan deal with the option of a recall by his parent club. It’s all part of a growing relationship between Celtic and Barcelona….now; I don’t suppose Thierry Henry or Samuel E’to could be on their way to Glasgow?