The best strikers in the game have developed a reputation for being goal-greedy. Not Odsonne Edouard.

The chilled frontman came off the bench for his side to net a quick double against Ross County. But he was more than happy to pass up the opportunity for a hat-trick when Celtic won a free-kick on the edge of the area.

Instead, up stepped Mikey Johnston to whip the effort into the wall when he probably should have at least worked the goalkeeper. Though he wanted his French mate to have a strike himself. "[Edouard] is so quiet and he's chilled as well," Johnston said.

"He's got so much talent and his confidence is obviously brimming just now. Whenever he gets the ball he thinks something is going to happen. He’s unbelievable. He’s also unselfish – I wanted him to hit that second half free-kick for his hat-trick but I was on free-kicks today and he said to me. ‘no, on you go, take it.’

"I said to him, ‘you’re on your hat-trick, take it’ but he said ‘no, you take it.’ You’ve got to be selfish at times as well, but you’ve also got to be unselfish at times, too. I thought it was a good gesture from him. Obviously, I should have put it in the net, but it was nice of him.

"When I hit the ball he said to me, ‘Right, I’m not giving you it again.’"

Johnston reckons his teammate is headed for the top but stopped short of praising the Frenchman too much. The mindset, presumably, that the winger does not want to add any unnecessary pressure to his teammate's shoulders.

"I think he is just enjoying his football," Johnston said. "He is scoring week in and week out and he is unbelievable for us. You never know what is going to happen in the future, but he is a special talent. I don’t listen to anything on the outside but everyone inside Celtic knows his qualities and knows how special he is."

Johnston, meanwhile, made his 20th appearance of the season for Celtic on Saturday in their 3-0 win over Ross County. A game that turned out to be a bit stickier than the Hoops would have anticipated.

Grinding out results at this level, though, is exactly what Neil Lennon's men will have to do with Rangers breathing down their necks. A winning mentality cannot be overstated. "There are loads of games coming up and we are just taking each one as it comes," he said. "We can’t afford to slip up – every game is a must-win just now.

"We’ve got guys in the team who have been there through all these recent titles we’ve won, so we’ve got the experience to get us through games. Guys like Scott Brown pull you through games and it is your mentality that is going to win you the league."