Celtic were let off the hook by Ross County on Saturday afternoon on a day the Staggies could really have set a cat among the pigeons in the Scottish Premiership title race.

County missed a handful of gilt-edged opportunities in the first-half at Parkhead as the Hoops looked disjointed defensively before Callum McGregor slotted home a penalty for the hosts.

Odsonne Edouard sprang from the bench to seal the points with a quick-fire double and keep his side ahead of rivals Rangers at the business end of the table.

Here are five talking points from Celtic Park.

CELTIC'S DEFENSIVE FRAILTIES LAID BARE

It was an unusual afternoon at Parkhead, given the apparent gulf between the two sides on the scoreline. But based on the number of chances the visitors created, especially in the first-half, the result perhaps was not a fair reflection of the performance from both teams.

Neil Lennon's men were caught out on numerous occasions by County's sharp and direct set-up. Blair Spittal's long, diagonal passes to set Josh Mullin in behind the backline was a particular strength of theirs early doors. Jozo Simunovic, in particular, looked out of sorts in the first 45 given his lack of game time in recent months.

County's Mullin should have scored twice in the first-half before Spittal sliced wide the equivalent of an open goal as Celtic struggled to deal with the pace at which they broke. Steven Ferguson and Stuart Kettlewell's charges might never have a better chance to win - or at least earn a share of the spoils - in Glasgow.

GRIFFITHS DIDN'T GET A TOUCH

For a player who has scored two goals in as many games headed into a home clash with the league's ninth-placed side, you could have been forgiven for thinking Leigh Griffiths was a stick-on to score.

To do that, though, the striker needed some sort of service, which - in the hour or so he played on Saturday - he was not provided with. The frustration on his face was clear to see on a number of occasions when Celtic's midfield opted to slow things down and find their full-backs for a run as opposed to set Griffiths away to chase a more direct approach.

Obviously Griffiths is a different option up-front to what his team have at the moment. The forward will run the channels for 90 minutes if he has to. But he wasn't helped out much by his teammates.

WHAT MUST GREG TAYLOR DO TO PLAY?

As previously mentioned, Celtic were defensively poor in the first-half before they managed to shore things up, somewhat, in the second. One man who never seemed to get to grips with the game, though, was Jonny Hayes.

Numerous stray passes set up County chances and the Irishman was beaten in the air all afternoon by Lee Erwin and co. One criticism that has been lobbed at Taylor, meanwhile, is his lack of cutting-edge at the top of the pitch. That he is not where he should be in terms of quality going forward. On this showing, Hayes is not much better.

Granted Moritz Bauer seemed to see a lot more of the action on the other flank, but whenever Hayes did see the ball in an attacking sense, his crosses were over-hit and his decision making questionable. Taylor cost Celtic ball-park £3million and really should have kicked on by now. The fact that he hasn't begs the question: why not?

JOSH MULLIN HAS A BIG FUTURE

Everything good Ross County did in the first-half went through Mullin on the right-flank. A clear and obvious game plan that, on another day, might certainly have worked out. The Staggies have not been as consistent as they'd have liked to be this season as a whole, which is clear.

But if they can keep their playmaker in this sort of form, with a tad more luck, the 27-year-old will undoubtedly come good for his side down the line. He's only managed two goals this term but, in the Championship last season, he nabbed 14. There's a talent there that needs re-tapping into and if he can find his form in front of goal again, County will be fine and Mullin will have eyes on him from clubs at a higher level.

EDOUARD STILL THE MAIN MAN

The headlines have been all about teammate Leigh Griffiths in recent weeks. But Odsonne Edouard made sure all the talk was about him on Saturday with his two goals.

He scored a header with his first touch after replacing Griffiths before slotting home a cool second that allowed Celts to breathe a bit easier. All that while nursing a toe injury that forced his manager to leave him on the bench in the first place.

It remains to be seen whether Edouard and Griffiths/Patryk Klimala can strike up a long-term partnership in a potential 3-5-2 formation. No matter the decision on that aspect, though, there's no doubt that Eddy is still number one around these parts.