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They now stand four points adrift of an Aberdeen side who lost their first league game of the season to Inverness at the weekend and while they will fully be expected to eat into that lead as the weeks go on, there is a lethargy that Deila’s men will want to shift.

Failure to land a place in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League appears to have left a hangover that the club have yet to shake.

Celtic have been drawn to face Hearts in the quarter-final of the Scottish League Cup in what is undoubtedly the tie of the round.

Caley Thistle only had five subs including keeper Ryan Esson on the bench, highlighting how light in numbers they are right now.

Celtic closed the gap behind Aberdeen at the top of the Scottish Premiership to four points despite being held to a goalless draw at home to Hearts on Saturday.

Scott Allan insists he will brush off the flak generated by his move to Celtic and grasp the opportunity of success at Parkhead.

Their first half performance against Partick was particularly impressive and manager Ronny Deila has challenged his side to repeat that in midweek.

Kris Commons lobbed in a second on 63 minutes to seal the victory for Celtic, who are gearing up for their UEFA Champions League play-off encounter with Malmo next week.

The 22-year-old is a free agent after leaving Tynecastle at the end of his contract but rules concerning the development of players mean that Hearts are entitled to compensation for training Holt.