Celtic beat Hibernian 2-1 today, and another three points have been safely tucked into the bag.

Job done, you might say.

Celtic won, the league campaign moves forward and we can all breathe a wee sigh of relief. Hurrah! Somebody fetch the champagne, tell the neighbours and let us celebrate the extraordinary achievement of winning a football match which, for long periods, felt far more complicated than it needed to be.

Except, my dear Celtic, I am afraid I am not quite ready to join the party.

Of course I am glad we won.

I would much rather spend my Sunday celebrating another Celtic victory than sitting here writing a miserable post-mortem about dropped points.

And yes, before anybody says it, the conditions at Easter Road were horrible.

The wind made the game difficult for both teams, Celtic had played in Europe only a few days earlier and we went behind almost immediately.

Those things matter.

But they do not mean we should simply look at the final score, collect the points and decide there is nothing else worth discussing.

Because winning is essential.

The manner in which Celtic play still matters too.

I am not complaining because Celtic won 2-1 instead of 5-0. Football does not work like that, and I am perfectly aware that not every domestic match can be a procession through the opposition defence.

Hibernian were entitled to make life difficult for us.

What concerns me is how often Celtic seem perfectly capable of making life difficult for themselves.

We were behind after three minutes. We got level through an own goal.

Kasper Høgh had opportunities he could not convert.

Camilo Durán produced another excellent finish to put us ahead before the break, but Celtic never really reached the point where the afternoon felt comfortable.

And late in the game Hibs were still pushing for an equaliser.

That is why the three points are welcome but the performance still leaves questions.

There is a difference between being tested by a determined opponent and repeatedly failing to impose the quality which Celtic should possess.

Celtic have the resources, stature and expectations of a club which should set the standard in Scottish football.

We are not some wee team hoping to nick results against the odds.

That does not mean we have a divine right to win every game comfortably.

It does mean supporters are entitled to expect a team with a recognisable plan, intelligent movement and enough attacking quality to control domestic matches more convincingly than we sometimes do.

I want to watch Celtic and understand exactly what the team is trying to achieve.

I want purposeful football.

I want to see us impose ourselves.

I want Celtic to create chances because of good movement and good decision-making rather than spending large parts of games hoping that somebody eventually produces a moment.

Durán did exactly that today.

His goal was superb.

But individual quality cannot continually be expected to cover for collective shortcomings.

That is not sustainable.

And this is where people sometimes become strangely defensive about criticism after a victory.

Three points? Brilliant.

A victory? Fantastic.

Therefore apparently every concern raised before kick-off must immediately be placed in a cupboard until the next time Celtic drop points.

How very convenient.

The result matters enormously.

But three points are not a magic wand.

They do not make recurring weaknesses disappear.

Celtic supporters are not demanding perfection every week. We understand that injuries happen, form fluctuates, opponents have their own plans and some games simply become ugly.

Today, with that wind, was always liable to become one of those games.

What we are entitled to look for is progress.

Is the team becoming more organised?

Are performances becoming more convincing?

Are problems being solved?

Can Celtic control matches more consistently?

Can we turn the superiority we possess on paper into superiority on the pitch?

Those questions matter because our ambitions cannot stop at getting through the next Premiership fixture.

Celtic want to win the title.

We want trophies.

We want to compete properly in Europe.

And if those ambitions are genuine, then merely doing enough cannot become the standard by which everything is judged.

I will give Celtic full credit for what they did today.

They went to Easter Road in dreadful conditions, conceded almost immediately, responded straight away and eventually found a way to win.

There is resilience in that.

There is character in that.

But there were also periods where the football was unconvincing and a closing spell in which Hibernian were still capable of taking something from the game.

Both things can be true.

As an English teacher, I know that getting the right answer does not automatically mean the working deserves full marks.

Sometimes a pupil reaches the correct conclusion through a muddled argument, a questionable method and far more unnecessary difficulty than should ever have been required.

You acknowledge the answer.

Then you point out the mistakes.

My dear Celtic, consider this your paper being handed back.

Three points: correct.

Some of the working: needs improvement.

I want to see Celtic build on this result rather than use it as evidence that the shortcomings no longer matter.

I want the players to gain confidence from winning.

I want Durán to continue doing what he is doing.

I want the team to become more convincing and more controlled, because there is a long way to go and the challenges are not becoming easier.

So yes, Celtic won 2-1 at Easter Road.

We restored the four-point lead at the top of the table and did what was required.

I am happy about that.

Am I entirely convinced by the performance? No.

Do I think Celtic can continually play below the standard expected of them and simply assume the results will keep coming?

Not a chance.

That is not negativity after a victory.

It is recognising that a welcome result and a convincing performance are not necessarily the same thing.

Three points are the reward for winning a football match.

They are not an exemption from criticism.

So enjoy the victory, Celtic.

Take the points. Learn from the performance.

Then get ready to do it again.

But preferably next time without forcing the rest of us to spend the final ten minutes wondering whether somebody has the number for a good cardiologist.

Job done today, Celtic.

But the homework is still sitting on your desk.

And I am afraid I shall be marking it.

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