Scottish Premier League: Celtic 1, Aberdeen 0Celtic manager Gordon Strachan insists his strikers are still playing their part in the Hoops' campaign despite their lack of goals.
The Parkhead men are odds-on to retain their title and have qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time, but are lacking a steady stream of goals from their hit-men.
Kenny Miller has not scored in his last seven games and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, who missed Saturday's victory with a hamstring injury, has scored only twice in his last eight matches.
Jiri Jarosik, who has also been played up front at various times despite being a midfielder, has chipped in with three goals.
Maciej Zurawski had scored only once in his last eight matches until he grabbed the only goal of the game against the Dons after coming on as a second-half substitute for Thomas Gravesen.
Strachan said: "At this time last season the strikers had scored 50 per cent of our goals, that is down to 30 per cent. I have an idea why it's happening but sometimes it's just form and you have to accept that. At the moment it is just about winning games. And what seems to be happening is that the goals are being shared out.
"The midfield players are scoring and Stephen McManus is always a threat at set plays. If you ask our forward players if they can do better then they would say 'yes'. But until that time arrives we must dig in and get goals.
"The strikers are helping us. Jiri was close to having a good game and Kenny was still running about but we are not deadly in front of goals at the moment. But they must be doing something right because we are not losing games."
The Hoops head for Denmark on Tuesday to complete their Champions League Group F fixture the following day against FC Copenhagen.
But Zurawski can only hope his goal will earn him a starting slot. He said: "I'm not sure if the goal helps my case for Copenhagen. It's down to the tactics and I don't know what they will be. But I have to be ready every time I come off the bench. When I go from the bench to the pitch, I am just thinking about scoring goals, that's what I like to do."
Celtic had goalkeeper Artur Boruc to thank for the three points against Aberdeen after he brilliantly saved a point-blank header from Dons skipper Russell Anderson with a minute remaining.
Despite his effort being the Pittodrie side's only real strike on goal in 90 minutes, Anderson insists his side did have enough belief: "We definitely believed we could win the three points. I think we could have posed them a few more problems when we had the ball but defensively we worked very hard to limit them to just a few chances."
Meanwhile, Celtic full back Paul Telfer has revealed he will leave the club in the summer.
The 35-year-old former Coventry and Southampton player in his second season at Celtic is living away from his family and admits he may quit football if he does not find a club nearer home.
Rangers' revival ended when they lost 1-0 at the Falkirk Stadium yesterday. Mark Twaddle grabbed the only goal of the game to leave Rangers trailing Celtic by a staggering 16 points.
CELTIC:Boruc, Telfer, Balde, McManus, Naylor, Nakamura, Lennon, Gravesen (Zurawski 67), McGeady, Jarosik, Miller (Pearson 87). Subs not used: Marshall, Sno, Riordan, Wilson, O'Dea. Booked: McGeady.
ABERDEEN:Langfield, Hart, Anderson, Considine (Lovell 79), Foster, Nicholson, Dempsey (Jamie Smith 75), Severin, Clark, Miller, Mackie. Subs not used: Soutar, Diamond, Touzani, Donald, Maguire. Booked: Lovell.
Referee:D McDonald (Scotland).
