POLES come in handy when you are trying to raise a flag properly. After Brian Quinn, Celtic’s chairman, launched a battery of statistics from last season at the club’s perceived “critics”, it fell to Maciej Zurawski to provide the first and last goals of a triumph that was not the procession suggested by the scoreline.

Nevertheless, Jim Jefferies’ side were polite guests. It had taken Celtic seven pre-season friendlies to score two goals but, helped by Kilmarnock, they matched that total within 38 minutes yesterday. The visitors’ demise could be traced back to the 25th minute when Danny Invincibile was clumsy with a pass to David Lilley and the defender was harassed out of possession by Kenny Miller. The striker’s pace can often see him get ahead of himself, but here he slowed up and pierced Kilmarnock’s exposed defence with a diagonal pass of vision and quality. Zurawski accepted it with a pure touch and finish, and their embryonic partnership has promise on this evidence.

Zurawski was back to his best after a poor World Cup. He also created Celtic’s second with a delicately clipped cross that Jiri Jarosik nodded home. Despite its quality, the goal was something of a sideshow to a little drama down by the dugouts where Celtic’s manager disappeared down the tunnel with two policemen. “It was nothing, really,” said Strachan afterward, leaving the mystery unsolved.

Maybe it was a missing persons’ inquiry, as only the transfer-seeking Stilian Petrov remained from the team which started for Martin O’Neill in the Uefa Cup final in Seville three years ago. Neil Lennon, the captain, was out on the pitch for the raising of the flag but then retreated to Setanta’s studio because of his suspension, while Bobo Balde’s stomach injury could keep him out for the first month of the season, or more, and further renovations were required by injuries to Shaun Maloney (groin) and Paul Telfer (hip).

Thus the early exchanges had the feel of the snagging exercise when a new building is examined for faults. Gary Caldwell still requires work, for instance. The centre-back can let poise slip into carelessness and when he failed to win an early header against Colin Nish, Paul di Giacomo should have played Allan Johnston through on goal with a simple pass. Instead, he selfishly elected to dribble, much to the chagrin of Jefferies, who remains, wonderfully, the Foghorn Leghorn of Scottish football. The Kilmarnock manager’s voluble displeasure with his immature striker would have doubled if Celtic had scored from their subsequent break upfield when Zurawski’s deflected shot spun invitingly to Miller, but the striker’s attempted volley was awry.

Caldwell erred again when ceding possession to the nimble feet of Steven Naismith. The Kilmarnock forward came purposefully from the left into Celtic’s box but then shot too straight at Artur Boruc and failed to evade the looming Polish goalkeeper when the ball broke to him again. It was moments such as these, plus the poor defending at the genesis of Celtic’s first goal that left Jefferies bemoaning the “sloppy, tippy-tappy” football his side played at times. Yet between these crucial lapses there were long periods of encouragement for him, too. “I saw signs that we will do alright this season, 4-1 looks like a hammering but it certainly wasn’t that.”

After Celtic’s failings in the protracted and phoney war of pre-season, Strachan welcomed the return to “competitive” football. “We must be the only club in the world that can win the league by 21 points (a reference to the margin at the point of the title being clinched rather than in the final table) and be under pressure in the first game of the next season, but we laughed at that pressure today.”

Celtic’s attempt to eke every last dollar and yen out of the pre-season campaign continues this week with a trip to Japan to play Yokohama Marinos, but Strachan is likely to leave as many of his first-choices at home as is contractually possible before facing Hearts at Tynecastle next weekend. Jarosik, for instance, will be excused to complete his flit from Birmingham to Glasgow. “It was a very hard pre-season,” he said. “It was very hot in America and we were flying to every game. It took 40 minutes on the bus just for training. I have spoken to the manager and I will use this week to get my furniture and clothing to Glasgow. That’s better for me than travelling 15 hours on a plane.”

Shunsuke Nakamura’s presence will be a necessity in Japan and his influence waxed in the second half of this match. Garry Hay had to clear from the line when Caldwell connected with Nakamura’s spinning corner and then the adroit midfielder curled home one of his free-kick specials from 28 yards with 15 minutes of the match remaining.

In between times, Miller berated Petrov for not playing him in and the stitching between the old and new sections of the Celtic team could also be seen when the new centre-back partnership of Caldwell and Stephen McManus failed to deal with a routine high ball and Naismith swivelled into a sharp volley to score. To their credit, Strachan’s team were determined to restore their lead. Aiden McGeady was denied by Graeme Smith, then miskicked in front of goal after linking well with Derek Riordan, but the ball broke straight to the alert Zurawski, who put it away emphatically.

STAR MAN: Maciej Zurawski (Celtic)

Player ratings. Celtic: Boruc 7, Wilson 7, Caldwell 5, McManus 6, Camara 6, Nakamura 7, Petrov 6, Jarosik 7 (Sno 84min, 6), McGeady 6, Zurawski 8, Miller 7 (Riordan 88min, 6)

Kilmarnock: Smith 6, Greer 5, Lilley 5, Wright 6, Hay 6, Fowler 6, Invincibile 6, Johnston 6, Naismith 7, Nish 5 (Wales 63min, 5), Di Giacomo 5 (Leven 68min, 5)

Booked: Greer 64, Boruc 87

Referee: I Brines

Attendance: 54,620

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