Kris Commons scored twice as Celtic netted four second-half goals in a 4-0 victory over St Mirren this afternoon.

Celtic struggled to break down their hardworking opponents in the opening 45 minutes, but they did come close to breaking the deadlock on a couple of occasions.

First, Commons fed the ball into the marauding Charlie Mulgrew, who took a touch out of his feet before firing a low shot towards goal, but it rebounded back off the upright and into the arms of Marian Kello.

Then, after half an hour, Commons swiveled on the edge of the box and sent a delicate chip over Kello that clipped the inside of the box and bobbled across the goalline before rolling out of play.

For all their dominance in the first half, Celtic failed to muster a single shot on target in the opening 45 minutes, but Mulgrew gave them the lead 10 minutes after the break.

Right-back Adam Matthews charged forward from a deep position and cleverly back-heeled the ball to Mulgrew in a crowded penalty area, and the midfielder kept his composure to slot the ball into the far corner.

It soon became two when Anthony Stokes curled a neat finish beyond the reach of Kello to register his 100th career goal and put the game beyond the reach of the home side.

Kello denied Scott Brown with a fingertip save after 68 minutes, but less than 60 seconds later Commons got his name on the scoresheet.

The 30-year-old arrived late at the far post to send a diving header into the gaping net and take his tally of Celtic goals to 50.

Commons put the gloss on the result soon after with a thunderous finish from close range after good work from James Forrest down the left flank and almost completed his hat-trick before Amido Balde was denied by a last-ditch Darren McGregor tackle.

The win means that Celtic have now opened up a mammoth 11-point lead at the summit of the Scottish Premiership.