Celtic have pitches to plough

It is no coincidence that at the start of the season it was a case of rolling over opponents, while today it is all about rolling up your sleeves.

The poor conditions of the pitches around the country - Rangers' newly-replaced surface excepted - dictate that any attempt to play neat, passing football is guaranteed to turn what on paper look like surefire victories into nothing more than lotteries.

When you are defending a title you have won for the last two years, you simply can't rely on the bonus ball bouncing your way.

So as much as it is anathema to all that Gordon Strachan believes in, safe, unadventurous football has to be the name of the game for his side until Mother Nature turns off the water works.

Otherwise, the floods will be tears streaming down the faces of Celtic fans as they watch their championship swept across to the other side of the Clyde.

It might not be pretty on the eye. But is it any worse a sight for Celtic supporters than a league table which shows Rangers on top? And before the next salvo of criticism is aimed at Strachan's side for the lack of flair on show, perhaps a look at the bigger picture may be taken.

Where is there attractive football on show at the moment? Excitement may be in evidence. But good football? Chances are there will be spills and thrills aplenty at Motherwell tomorrow night if the notoriously poor Fir Park pitch recovers to host the visit of the champions.

As ever, the conditions could be somewhat of a leveller, which benefits Mark McGhee's improving team.

But at least as he prepares his players on the immaculately manicured lawns of Lennoxtown, Strachan can content himself with the knowledge that the experience offered at Falkirk on Sunday can act as a decent dress rehearsal for what is to come.

Even if it is cruel irony he is getting his important players back from injury, men like Shunsuke Nakamura, when conditions make it tough for them to show their array of skills, Strachan reckons they can adapt their tools to do the job.

He said: "It was a good lesson for us at the weekend. You can't play that far apart from one another on surfaces like that. But we now know this, and we showed by the way we adapted at Falkirk that we can cope with whatever conditions are thrown at us.

"It can make for mistakes, especially at the back. Which is why it was important our two centre-halves in particular were excellent and made all the right decisions when to go for the ball and when to hold back.

"But because we played so far apart, our passing was longer than it should have been.

"And, when we did find a man, their team-mates were not close enough to get on the end of any knock-downs. So there was plenty to learn from a game like that."

The most important lesson learned, however, was that no mistakes mean no chances for the opposition to hurt you.

A fifth consecutive clean sheet was as important as Scott McDonald's 19th goal of the season, which sets the little Aussie up perfectly for the return to the club where he first made such an impact.

"I'd have settled for 1-0 before I went to Falkirk," said Strachan, willing as he is to risk the wrath of those who still naively believe the champions should be coasting to victory every week.

"It can often be concerning when the score is as tight as that. But I was all right because we were defending so well. Tension in the dugout is definitely down these days.

"Of course, like everyone else, I'd rather be 2-0 up, and Jan was unlucky when he hit the post.

"But I know I've got players who are enjoying defending at the moment."

That's not something which could have been said with any conviction during the turbulent month of December when goals - and points - were handed out like Christmas presents.

Strachan is now anticipating other areas of his side clicking back into happy mode, and that includes midfield where Scott Brown has struggled to retain the nonchalant strut which was his trademark in his early matches for the club he joined last summer.

The 22-year-old has had to come to terms with being a target, the price to pay for wearing a £4.4m price tag. But Strachan is confident Brown's true colours will shine through again soon.

He said: "Scott took some knocks at the weekend, and I keep telling him good players have to take kicks. But when you get kicks like that, you need protection from the referees."

Strachan acknowledges that, hurting or not, expensive players are expected to show their worth every game.

However, no amount of money paid can alter the fact he is still a young man learning his trade and Strachan said: "Scott is just getting used to a four-man midfield after playing in a three at Hibs.

"He's learning a lot of things. Once he knows how to play in a side with two central midfield players instead of three, he will be away.

"But we have all seen glimpses of great stuff from him.

"Scott is another who might be suffering a bit because of the conditions just now. When the surfaces are better the systems we play might just suit him more.

"But he has got the intelligence and the ability to learn in any position."