Celtic manager Ronny Deila praised Turkish striker Nadir Ciftci after his double helped the Hoops to a 3-0 defeat of St Johnstone on Sunday.

The Turkish forward has found his chances limited at Celtic Park following his £1.5 million ($2.3m, 2m euros) transfer from Dundee United in the summer.

Ciftci missed the first six games of the season due to a ban for biting an opponent and the 23-year-old has since struggled to displace the in-form Leigh Griffiths from the Celtic starting line-up.

However, an injury to top scorer Griffiths has allowed Ciftci to start the past two matches for the Hoops and the striker made the most of his opportunity as he drilled in the 35th-minute opener at McDiarmid Park before heading home his second of the afternoon after Dedryck Boyata had already doubled Celtic's advantage.

"I'm so happy for Nadir. Now he has had two games in a row and we know he can do things," Celtic manager Deila said.

"Today he was strong and scored twice and that was very good for him.

"He played very well. There are a lot of our young boys who need confidence and good experience.

"You have to play to score and Leigh has been unbelievable this season and you can't take out a goalscorer but it makes it better for everybody that we don't have to rely on Leigh all the time."

Ciftci's goals doubled his tally for the season as the Turkish striker aims to kick-start his stuttering Celtic career.

He played down his contribution but says he hopes to have shown enough to the manager to be given more opportunities in the future as he helped the Hoops to move four points clear of Aberdeen at the top of the Scottish Premiership with a game in hand.

"It is always good to get the goals, but it is all about the team and getting the points," Ciftci said.

"I was lucky to be on the end of the two goals but if I don't have my team-mates I wouldn't have them.

"There is always pressure at a club like Celtic. They always want to win and this is very good for me as it's a different experience for me. So I need to make sure I'm out on the pitch giving everything I've got in every chance I get.

"Every player wants a chance, not just me, and when they do they need to show the things the gaffer asks, no matter the position and hopefully I did that today."

There was plenty of emotion on show before the game as Emilio Izaguirre warmed up for the match in a t-shirt sporting a message in memory of his Honduran team-mate Arnold Peralta, who was recently murdered in his homeland.

The pair shared a house in Glasgow when Peralta was playing for rivals Rangers.

"I talked with him and he was ready. I trust my players and he did a good job," Deila said of the decision to play Izaguirre in the match in Perth.

"It was hard for him, but he wanted to play and I am very pleased with the way he got through that game, if you take into consideration the circumstances.

"He made that choice himself and it was important that I didn't have it over his head."