CELTIC should always overcome Livingston and overcome them comfortably whenever they meet the West Lothian outfit due to their greater resources and superior personnel.

Yet, this emphatic win at Parkhead today was, after two failed attempts to beat the Tony Macaroni Arena side in the past three months, further evidence the Glasgow club have put their calamitous slump in form behind them.  

The three points may have been meaningless in terms of the league with Rangers having wrapped up the Scottish title weeks ago. Third-placed Hibernian are also unable to pip them to second spot, and a Champions League qualifying place, next term.

Still, with a Scottish Cup last 16 match against their city rivals at Ibrox a week today this slick display and morale-boosting scoreline were timely; Scott Brown and his team mates will head for Govan with confidence high.

Only Robby McCrorie, the on-loan Rangers goalkeeper who denied Mohamed Elyounoussi on no fewer than three occasions and saved brilliantly from Brown and Odsonne Edouard during the course of 90 one-sided minutes, prevented David Martindale’s charges from being routed.

But McCrorie was unable to keep strikes from James Forrest and David Turnbull out of his net in the first-half. Jack Fitzwater turned the ball into his own net after Brown had got on the end of a Turnbull corner early in the second. Then Elyounoussi netted a double. Substitute Ryan Christie pounced on an error from Efe Ambrose with just a few minutes remaining  

It was Celtic’s biggest win since they defeated KR Reykjavik 6-0 in a Champions League qualifier way back in August.

The only negative for Kennedy was that Forrest, who only returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines last month, limped off with a knock in the second-half. The winger is now a doubt for the Rangers game.