Celtic 6-2 Dundee

It was the night of two Tommys at Parkhead as Tommy Johnson scored a hat-trick for stand-in manager and namesake Burns.

Burns, sacked as Celtic boss in 1997, recently returned as first-team coach until the end of the season.

He took charge of this game since caretaker-manager Kenny Dalglish was suffering from food poisoning.

Celtic were 5-0 up by half-time as Dundee completed an embarrassing double to follow Sunday's 7-1 home thrashing by Rangers.

Once again this game exposed the massive gap in class between the Old Firm and the SPL strugglers.

Johnson scored the first two goals and the sixth, with Mark Viduka netting a double either side of a Stilian Petrov strike.

Hugh Robertson and James Grady replied for the hapless visitors in the second half.

But the result leaves them heading rapidly towards relegation trouble having won just once in 12 games.

Johnson was one of Burns' last signings at the club and has failed to command a first-team place at the club.

But he scored the first two goals to belatedly repay Burns' faith in signing him from Aston Villa in 1997.

The English forward should have put Celtic ahead in the first minute but shot tamely into keeper Robert Douglas' arms after being released by Viduka.

Douglas was forced to leave the field for treatment on a head wound after being caught by Morten Weighorst.

Robert Raeside temporarily took the jersey with Dundee reduced to 10 men for nine minutes.

And the Scottish international keeper was back on the pitch when Johnson made the breakthrough in the 18th minute.

Jackie McNamara played the ball in from the right and even though Douglas got a hand to the ball, he was unable to stop it going into the net.

Johnson added his second in the 31st minute, ramming a shot high over Douglas after being set up by Viduka.

Viduka's strength then took him into the heart of Dundee defence for Celtic's third goal five minutes later.

Petrov gets in on act

It was becoming a rout and Stilian Petrov added the fourth two minutes before the break when he got on the end of a cross from Lubomir Moravcik.

Dundee's frustration boiled over in injury time when Frank Van Eijs brought down Stephane Mahe and Viduka knocked his spot kick beyond Douglas.

Brazilian defender Rafael made his belated debut for Celtic during the second half but a minute later a spectacular 25-yard strike from Robertson flew beyond Dmitri Kharine.

Johnson completed his hat-trick when Frank Van Eijs was woefully short with a back pass.

But Dundee continued to play with no little spirit despite the deficit and scored a second in the 77th minute when Grady headed home a cross from Steven Boyack.

Teams:

Celtic: Kharine, McNamara, Mahe, Mjallby, Stubbs, Boyd, Petrov, Wieghorst, Moravcik, Viduka, Johnson. Subs: Kerr, Berkovic, Burchill, Tebily, Rafael.

Dundee: Douglas, Tweed, Raeside, Boyack, Rae, Annand, Grady, Robertson, Sharp, Van Eijs, Wilkie. Subs: Langfield, Falconer, Maddison, Bayne, Mair.

Referee: S Dougal (Scotland)