Celtic captain Callum McGregor admits patience and composure will be key requirements for his team during the title run-in.
The cinch Premiership leaders had to overcome a solid defensive wall from St Mirren as well as some audible frustration from the Celtic Park crowd before beating the Paisley side 2-0 on Wednesday.
The breakthrough came when Cameron Carter-Vickers lashed home in the 55th minute after getting the break of the ball from a set-piece.
Although St Mirren never threatened, the edginess only really disappeared when McGregor added a late second.
The result kept Celtic three points clear of Rangers with nine games left and McGregor knows they will face similar tests of their nerve in the coming months.
While Celtic were not at their free-flowing best, McGregor said: “We try and play a type of football that requires patience sometimes as well.
“When you get teams that come and sit low, it is hard to break down. You have to keep moving the ball and keep shifting it side to side to try and find that opening to get you a goal.
“It can come from a set-play, it can come from a mistake or whatever. You’ve just got to be ready to take the chance.
“That’s our game. We want to pin teams in and make it hard for them to defend till we get that opening. But it does require patience.
“It’s going to be a nervy run-in towards the end. It’s just about the players and everybody staying calm and trusting what has got us this far.
“It works, so we stay calm and keep doing the right things. Hopefully we will do enough to get there.”
The frustration was especially audible in the home support from about the half-hour mark until the opener.
“People will misplace passes and give the ball away,” McGregor said. “You have to accept that it’s part of the game.
“As long as people are trying to do the right thing, and trying to do what the manager is asking them to do within that structure, you just keep everybody calm.
“We understand the frustration sometimes when it’s 0-0 and it’s a little bit edgy. But we always try to do the right thing.
“It’s a learning curve for the players but everyone has got to stay calm and focused on what we are trying to do,
“It’s just frustration. That’s the pressure you get playing at a big club. You have to take that on your shoulders and still be able to perform, still do the right thing, still do what the manager is asking you to do.
“There are some new players, some young players, but I think they’re handling it well.”
The Celtic fans and players are likely to need patience on Sunday when they travel to the Tony Macaroni Arena to face Livingston.
Celtic have not scored in two games against Livi this season and have not won in their past five visits to West Lothian.
“We have kind of struggled to pick up results, especially away, so we just try to implement the game model that we want,” McGregor said.
“We will look at it over the next couple of days, anticipate what they will do and try to come up with a game plan to beat that.”
