Sweet sixteen is perfect for Celtic

Glasgow (AFP) - Celtic assistant manager Johan Mjallby says his side are taking great pride in their unbeaten 16-match start to the Scottish Premiership season.

The Hoops extended their run with a 2-0 win over Hearts at Celtic Park on Saturday, to open a 10-point lead at the top of the table.

It is the first time Celtic have reached Christmas unbeaten in the league since 2003 when Mjallby himself was part of Martin O'Neill's side that won the double.

And the Hoops assistant boss was delighted to see the current crop of Parkhead stars equal that feat as they look to get over their disappointment of exiting Europe.

"It is great, obviously we did exceptionally well in Europe last year in the Champions League, maybe not this year. But we weren't happy with the league form last season and this year we have been much more solid," Mjallby said.

"I think we are mentally stronger and to be so far unbeaten is a good showing I think. I know you always want to go out and play perfect football, and score bundles of goals but sometimes you have to earn the right and work hard.

"Hearts made it hard for us so we are quite happy with the three points and being unbeaten."

After being knocked out of the Champions League, Mjallby believes the Celtic players and management need to set themselves new targets to keep them motivated.

"Obviously there is not going to be any more European football this season, so we have to set new targets and incentives for the players," Mjallby admitted.

"Being unbeaten is going to be very important for us and obviously right now, the target is to go 20 games unbeaten and then we take it from there.

"You always look for progress and to do better. Being knocked out of Europe was disappointing but the first target was to get there and hopefully get the same run as last year when we reached the last 16 but it is quite hard because you are fighting against teams who have bigger financial muscle."

The Hoops extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership but were forced to work hard for their win over a Jamie MacDonald-inspired Hearts.

In stark contrast to three weeks ago, when Celtic dished out a record 7-0 defeat to the Edinburgh side, the Jambos put in a resolute defensive performance with MacDonald in impressive form.

The 'keeper seemed to thwart Celtic at every opportunity as he made superb stops to keep out efforts from Anthony Stokes, Kris Commons and Joe Ledley in a goalless first half.

He continued to frustrate the Hoops until the 63rd minute, when Commons fired them in front as Celtic scored for the 35th consecutive league game.

Commons then came to the rescue for Celtic when he cleared Dylan McGowan's header off the line as the Hearts defender looked to have grabbed a 90th-minute equaliser.

Substitute James Forrest sealed the win with a goal three minutes into stoppage time as he latched on to a Georgios Samaras pass to finish past MacDonald and put Celtic 10 points clear of second-placed Inverness, who have a game in hand.

Commons grabbed a hat-trick in the 7-0 win over Hearts but the midfielder, who is Celtic's top scorer with 13 this season, said a repeat performance had never been on the cards.

"I think we played into their hands in the first half. It was never going to be another 7-0 and they made it difficult for us to score goals," Commons said.

"It's difficult to break teams down. Even the best teams in the world find it hard when teams come and park the bus."