THEY played the numbers game at Celtic Park yesterday afternoon.

The support are demanding TEN ... but they were happy to settle for five as they claimed their fourth successive title.

The bottom line, though, was that it all added up to a day of celebration.

In keeping with the party tone of the day, Celtic served up a 5-0 victory to see off Inverness Caley and bring down the curtain on a season that ended with silverware and sunshine.

It was forgotten man Stefan Scepovic who stole the headlines, coming in from the cold to bag two goals and remind both his manager and the support that he still has something to offer.

Nir Bitton, one of the success stories of the season, effectively stood back to allow his colleague to net the opening goal after just five minutes. By the time Scepovic left the pitch in the latter stages of the game, having added another to his tally, Bitton was quick to congratulate him.

Such benevolence would have been appreciated by the Serb, but it is what he does next that will be most intriguing.

Ronny Deila has insisted that the player will still be here next season - and with a contract that runs for another three years there is every chance of that - but whether or not he can find a way to the first-team, remains to be seen.

"We know he can score goals, but I think he worked really, really hard today and showed that he is capable of doing what we ask him to do," said Deila afterwards.

"Everyone will get a chance next season. He is in our squad, so he is one of them. He had a good game today.

"As I said to every player, progress is everything. We are very close to the players and give them feedback on everything they do. When they do what you expect them to do, then they have a future here because they are improving all the time.

"Stefan has struggled a little bit to get into the physical side of Scottish football, but today he showed he is capable of doing it. I'm very happy for him.

"Of course he wants to stay here. He wants to succeed here. But everyone wants to play football, that's the hardest part for me to manage. We need competition and we need a squad who can stay over 70 games or so a season."

Scepovic was supported in his goalscoring exploits by Stefan Johansen, who rounded off his impressive season by bagging his 13th goal of the season, while Leigh Griffiths and Kris Commons also got in the act.

Griffiths, whose end-of-season form could not be more different to its difficult beginnings, is the perfect example to Scepovic in terms of the possibility of winning over the trust of the manager.

The striker started the game on the bench, but having netted 20 goals this season for Deila's side - 12 of which have come since March - he has justifiable reason to believe that he will be a prominent figure for Celtic when the new season gets underway.

But yesterday was all about the here and now, the chance to celebrate and take in a rare chance to stand still at Celtic Park.

In that respect, the football was largely secondary to the party.

The game kicked off against a background of celebration, with Inverness beginning the plaudits. The Highlanders gave Celtic a guard of honour on to the pitch in recognition of their title achievement, and the Hoops support were always there to savour the day.

"Walk On" rang around the stadium as the game got underway and the players made sure that they kept their part of supplying the entertainment with a steady stream of goals.

By the time Live and Thale Deila, the Celtic manager's twin 15-year-old daughters, brought the Premiership trophy on to the pitch, the Celtic support were in fine voice. Deila's name was chanted, but the Norwegian was content to take his place in the background as Harald Brattbakk handed the trophy to skipper Scott Brown to raise aloft.

The game was watched by former Hoops boss Neil Lennon, who was at the game in a media capacity. Lennon's memory bank may have been opened up by the scenes inside the famous old ground, but Deila is in the process of penning a new chapter in the club's history books.

And he admitted afterwards that following in the footsteps of an iconic figure at the club was a challenge fraught with difficulty at the start of the campaign.

"It was so hard to take over a successful team," he said. "If you take over a team who has played very badly, then everything you do is very positive. I took over from Neil, who is a legend at this club and has won three titles, I have everything to lose.

"And when you change things they will, of course, say, 'why change when you are winning all the time?'

"The players have been professional, they have seen the way we want to go all the time and in the end we are getting a team who you can see enjoy playing the way we want.

"And a lot of players have progressed during the season, and every week you are coming up with new names that we want and that is because the team is good and they see good football players out there and they are doing something right and the culture is how we want it."

The four-in-a-row champions finished the season with 92 points, but Deila remains confident he can oversee further improvements.

But, as the club turns its attention to the European qualification campaign, it will be all about what comes next.