Are Celtic finally beginning to click?

On Tuesday night, like many others inside Celtic Park, I couldn’t believe what they were watching, as the Hoops hit eight past a very sorry Hamilton Accies side.

What impressed me most was the variety of Celtic’s play and their unpredictable style that really did fool the Accies. Now, what was unusual about Celtic on Tuesday, is that the team played with a sense of freedom and looked as though they finally gelled as a team.

The opening stages of the match reminded me of how the Hoops started against Malmo. Those opening 15 minutes against the Swedish side, Celtic looked hungry and had the desire just to score and not just patiently build up play.

On Tuesday, the exact same thing happened. Instead of playing the usual side to side football, Celtic created fast, swift attacks that would hurt Hamilton. Every single goal was different. I could go through all eight goals but the two stand out ones were Leigh Griffiths first and James Forrest’s goal.

Celtic, who have been criticised with a lack of pace this season and not hitting on the break enough, looked to have momentarily turned a corner on that front. A swift counter attack by Gary Mackay-Steven, who was impressive against the Accies, ended with Celtic’s top goalscorer, Griffiths netting another goal this season.

Forrest’s goal also impressed Celtic fans not only because of the winger’s desire to get into the box but more of the creativity by Scott Allan. He has been limited to game time since joining Celtic, and his 45 minute appearance on Tuesday showed Ronny Deila and the Celtic fans what they had been missing. His awareness for the goal and all round play on Tuesday night was promising for Hoops fans who expect to see Celtic play free-flowing attacking football.

Just days before the performance against Hamilton, the Hoops eased to a 4-1 win at Tannadice but there were glimpses of that free-flowing football that night.

In one of Deila’s first interviews at the club he said:

I want to deliver at the best attacking, exciting and entertaining football we can play.

It was an interesting statement at the time but the right thing to say because playing the Celtic way is about free-flowing football and scoring goals. It’s as simple as that. Now of course, Celtic can’t play like that week in week out, but there should be a level of expectation to now perform at a high level.

And they will need to perform at a highest level in the next few matches, that will go a long way to defining the Hoops season. St Johnstone, are the first up on Saturday and they aren’t pushovers, so it’ll be important for Celtic maintain the six-point gap over Aberdeen.

Just a week later and the Bhoys face Ross County in the semi-final of the League Cup. Revenge may be on the mind of some Celtic fans, who will want to see their side progress to the final given what happened back in 2010, when the Dingwall side put out Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Then three days later, Celtic play Aberdeen at Pittodrie in what will be a fiery encounter that could see Celtic go well clear of their nearest challengers.

Given the pressure the Hoops have been under in “big game” situations this season, the facts will tell you that they simply haven’t performed in the way they could have. It will be intriguing to see if Deila’s side will perform without shackles and play the free-flowing football that they have showed in glimpses.