Celtic managed to secure an important victory over Ross County yesterday to make it six victories on the bounce in all competitions.

Alistair Johnston’s heavily deflected strike in the first minute proved to be enough to claim maximum points for the Hoops, who now sit five points clear at the Scottish Premiership summit.

In truth, Brendan Rodgers’ men lacked attacking guile in the final third and Kyogo Furuhashi cut an isolated figure during proceedings due to a lack of service from his teammates.

Honduran winger Luis Palma missed a golden opportunity to put some daylight between the sides from the penalty spot with 28 minutes played. His miss set the tone for a frustrating rest of the afternoon until the full-time whistle was blown.

On the day, Celtic emerged as deserved victors from the occasion; however, the need for reinforcements in the market has been amplified in full view after a sub-standard performance from the Scottish champions.

Just days of the transfer window remain at Parkhead, and it remains to be seen if the Bhoys hierarchy will act accordingly, given the reality that their side are at the centre of a title race.

Brendan Rodgers sends hopeful Celtic transfer message

Speaking post-match, Rodgers congratulated his players for picking up a ‘good result’ in a ‘stuffy’ encounter against Derek Adams’ men.

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Despite this, there is much work to be done at the club ahead of upcoming away fixtures in quick succession against Aberdeen, Hibernian and St Mirren, both on the training field and in the transfer window.

Taking this into account, Rodgers has delivered a hopeful message that he can add some fresh faces to his squad before the deadline.

In response to a question asking whether Celtic will bring in cover for the injured Greg Taylor, he stated [STV News]: “There are numbers of areas we’re looking at. I can only concentrate on the players I have here now. But certainly, there are areas we are looking to improve on.

“Hopefully there’s movement, that’s the plan. Getting that player in who can help our level and allow us to develop. We will see over the coming days, but hopefully that’s the case.”

Celtic need to bolster their squad depth to keep moving forward

Alexandro Bernabei stepped in for Taylor yesterday and certainly worked hard marauding up and down the left flank; however, his performance did leave a lot to be desired after losing the ball several times under little pressure, which indicates that strengthening in his position is vital before the window closes.

By the same token, another noticeable feature of the Staggies clash came in the form of Furuhashi’s lack of involvement, which led the Japan international to have just 16 touches across the entire match [Fotmob].

The former Vissel Kobe man is a talismanic figure for Celtic and the best striker at the club by a distance.

Nonetheless, Hyeongyu Oh and Daizen Maeda’s absence due to being involved at the AFC Asian Cup has left inexperienced Rocco Vata as the only alternative to mix things up in the centre-forward position.

At just 18, Republic of Ireland Under-21 international Vata would be under a lot of pressure to deliver in the striking department. In light of this, acquiring a new number nine before the deadline should also be a priority at Parkhead in the coming days.