Brendan Rodgers expects Celtic to show their “fluidity and quality” in the months ahead now they have no more international breaks until March.
The Hoops moved three points clear of Aberdeen at the top of the William Hill Premiership with a 4-1 win away to Hearts on Saturday night.
However, all the goals – from Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn and an Adam Idah double – came in the second half after a slack first-half display in which Rodgers felt some of his players looked hampered by the effects of being away on international duty.
“It’s a great testament, I have to say, coming off the back of the travel that some of these guys have done,” said the manager.
“I thought just looking at us a little bit at times, we were a little bit leggy in the first half in some moments.
“But you’ve got guys that are travelling, the Japanese players halfway around the world, Auston Trusty, Ali Johnston travelling away and joining the team on Friday.
“So the beauty is a fantastic second half, but I know we’ll get that synchronisation back again and there’s no more international breaks.
“We’ll get that fluidity and quality back into the team.”
Rodgers expects to utilise his squad as Celtic embark on a busy winter, with another seven matches to come before Christmas, including two Champions League fixtures and a Premier Sports Cup final against Rangers.
Two-goal Idah and midfielder Paulo Bernardo were among the players to come off the bench and help Celtic finish strongly at Tynecastle.
Asked if the substitutes had given him food for thought, Rodgers said: “No, they always do. I’ve said it before, it’s a crime that I can’t play some of these players from the start.
“They know over this period that they’ll get starts, but it’s about making an impact. Whether you start the game, come into the game, that’s the role that they play and sometimes they will do.
“It’s just about trying to manage the minutes of the players to make the team energetic and to keep that intensity. And we’re going to need that over the coming months.”
Hearts boss Neil Critchley took heart from his team’s first-half display and from the sight of 22-year-old Gambian forward Musa Drammeh, who has been restricted to just three sub appearances since his summer arrival, coming off the bench to score his first goal for the club from 20 yards out.
“Musa’s been doing very well in training,” he said. “We played a game here in the international break and he scored two goals behind closed doors against Dundee. He’s deserving of his opportunity.
“He came on at Rangers, he came on against Celtic and he scored a brilliant goal. Fair play to Musa.”
