HE made the mistake of referring to him as James Beattie in the immediate aftermath of Celtic's 2-1 win at Tynecastle yesterday, but if Steven Pressley still doesn't quite know the names of his new team-mates he certainly knows the drill of what happens on game day in the Hoops.

He would have been forgiven had he taken a wrong turn as the teams headed into the dressing rooms at the break with the hosts a goal to the good, but for all that the sight of Pressley not just in the colours of Celtic but sporting the captain's armband might be unfamiliar, it was the case of same old, same old for Gordon Strachan's side.

The only thing that was fresh to the eyes of the Parkhead support was Craig Beattie's influence, which has been negligible on the Bhoys' first team since he has been plagued by injury from last October.

The striker made a gleeful start to last season when his pace and power catapulted him into genuine contention for a starting place in Strachan's side before he was derailed by a problematic hamstring, but his performance against Hearts, when he arrived from the bench to kickstart Celtic, suggests that he is a player still capable of offering something a little different to Celtic's forward line.

With Kenny Miller toiling and Maciej Zurawski struggling, Beattie might just have pushed himself further up the pecking order as Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink waits for a regular strike partner.

The Dutchman made his first start for two months, and although he eventually hauled Celtic back into the game with his poached leveller after Craig Gordon had spilled Beattie's shot into his path, the Hoops didn't supply enough ammunition for him in the early stages of the game.

So often this season the Parkhead side have waited until they are behind before rolling up their sleeves and getting on with the job in hand and, had Hearts paid attention to what had gone before, they would have known the danger of their wastefulness in front of goal in a first period they largely controlled.

It wasn't just that Hearts had established a 1-0 half-time lead, but rather the manner of Celtic's defending which would have given cause to assume that the Tynecastle side were capable of adding to their tally.

Had it not been for a couple of decent stops from Artur Boruc and a goal-line intervention from Paul Telfer, Strachan's side would have found themselves further adrift and there were precious few chances at the other end that suggested they were capable of troubling the home side.

Andrew Driver caused all manner of problems for Celtic's defence before he was forced out of the game through injury, but it was Beattie's arrival that gave Strachan's side fresh impetus.

Guilty of standing off Saulius Mikoliunas as he belted home the opener from long range, Celtic eventually got to grips with the game in the second period in the middle of the park where Evander Sno and Thomas Gravesen started to impose themselves on Paul Hartley and Neil McCann.

After pulling level, Shunsuke Nakamura cannoned a shot off the crossbar and the longer the game wore on the more likely it was that the points would be heading east to Glasgow.

The hero of the hour came from an unlikely source. Jiri Jarosik has been posted missing in many games this season, but the Czech midfielder settled the game with a superb strike that vindicated Strachan's decision not only to start with him but to keep him on.

For Celtic the points just keep on totting up and with every win the vision of getting hands on the Championship comes into sharper focus. I'm not yet at full power reckons stopper

STEVEN Pressley made a winning return to Tynecastle and, despite producing a man-of-the-match performance at the heart of Celtic's defence, the stopper says the best is yet to come from him.

The player hadn't played for three weeks before making his Celtic debut but, after taking the captain's armband in only his third game in charge, he is eager to continue the good start he has had to his Parkhead career.

"It's improving game by game, but there is still a bit to go yet," he said.

"You've still to see the best of Steven Pressley."

Pressley got a mixed reception from the home support on his first trip back to Tynecastle, but he was more concerned with ensuring Celtic won the game.

"I thoroughly enjoyed the occasion," he said. "I got a very warm welcome from the Hearts and Celtic supporters.

"It's always a difficult place to come to, Tynecastle and I thought we showed superb character in terms of going behind to a fantastic goal by Saulius (Mikoliunas).

"We show great spirit, which is the reason why this club has been so successful."