CELTIC manager Gordon Strachan was satisfied that a return to competitive action had brought the best out of his evolving side as the champions began the defence of their SPL crown with a 4-1 victory over Kilmarnock at Parkhead.

Maciej Zurawski with a brace along with goals from Shunsuke Nakamura and Jiri Jarosik helped the Hoops to a comfortable victory, for whom Steven Naismith grabbed a late consolation.

It was a markedly different performance than the ones Celtic have been producing in a disappointing preseason campaign, culminating in a dispiriting defeat against a second-string Manchester United outfit on Wednesday. But, following the unfurling of the championship flag by chairman Brian Quinn, the Hoops produced a clinical performance to get their campaign off to a winning start.

The home side were missing suspended captain Neil Lennon . . . Stephen McManus was handed the armband for the day . . . yet began brightly and with a purpose to their play. Nakamura and then Kenny Miller had early chances for the home side but it was the visitors who came close to scoring in the first quarter of an hour.

Gary Caldwell overran the ball in midfield and was robbed by Naismith, who raced into the box unchallenged but was denied twice by Poland keeper Artur Boruc. Zurawski then calmed Celtic nerves when he notched the first goal of the new SPL season on 25 after strike partner Miller had robbed Kilmarnock defender David Lilley.

In the 38th minute the Hoops strung together a terrific move which culminated in former Chelsea midfielder Jarosik heading efficiently past Smith for his first goal for the club before Nakamura netted a wonderful secondhalf free-kick. Naismith grabbed an 87th minute consolation for Kilmarnock but Zurawski put the seal on the match from close range in the closing seconds.

Afterwards Strachan was a pleased man. "We can be the only club in the history of football that can win the championship by 21 points and on the first game of the season be under pressure. So what we've done is handle that pressure by playing stunning football. We gave chances away but if you're going to play like us then that can happen. It was satisfying. It was a good game. There was some great football so you can't really ask for more. Well, I suppose you can but there you are.

"The crowd become competitive, we're competitive and you add these ingredients together and you're going to get a competitive game. But I thought Kilmarnock were excellent.

They were right up for it with fair tackles. They were enthusiastic tackles and we handled them well because we didn't react because we've seen that if you do you can go down to 10 men.So some of what we did today was very good, some we can work on and some we can't do anything about.

Celtic now head to Japan for a friendly match and Strachan admitted a few of his key players will have to make the trip. "We're obliged to take a certain amount of firstteam players but it's not many and they've been good to us to be honest."

Meanwhile Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies insists his side did not deserve to lose by such a convincing margin on the first day of the season. Killie excelled last term, comfortably finishing in the top six ahead of clubs with far bigger financial backing. And although the start to the new season couldn't have been much tougher, Jefferies is adamant if they had taken their chances Killie could have sprung a surprise.

"I don't think the 4-1 is a true reflection. Where it came from was sloppy play and losing possession in areas that Celtic punished us. After 25 minutes I felt very comfortable and I thought if we could get a result here then it might be today. When (Steven) Naismith was right through on the goalkeeper if he puts it to the other side of him we go one-up. And (Paul) Di Giacomo burst onto the edge of the box and if he had seen Allan Johnston he could have played him in. But he took an extra touch and the chance was gone."