THE Celtic supporters seemed to enjoy themselves as much as their team yesterday. Indeed, they turned into a Greek chorus in more ways than one as a desperate Kilmarnock were demolished in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.

In surprisingly good voice considering the attendance was a paltry 6,491, and after regular paeans in praise of Scott McDonald and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, which were rewarded with three goals from the pair, the travelling fans chanted for on-loan Manchester City striker Georgios Samaras. With the score 4-1 and 23 minutes remaining, the flamboyant Greek duly appeared from the bench.

The 22-year-old did not disappoint his choir, leading them into throaty appreciation after gliding inside from the right flank five minutes from time and guiding an exquisite low effort in at the far post from fully 20 yards.

Effortless and uncomplicated, Samaras probably thought he was debuting in one of those cup clashes that pairs a top flight side with lower division opponents.

Chillingly, Jim Jefferies' side, weakened by the loss of Colin Nish in the same transfer window which saw them fail to bring in several targets, could not even offer the kind of resistance Stirling Albion staged in the last round at Celtic Park. On an immaculate surface that betrayed no signs of the sleet and driving snow in the lead-up to the noon kick-off for BBC television purposes, Strachan's side relished the opportunity to show that, if allowed to play, they can produce football with a polish.

Confronted by anaemic opponents of the most lifeless kind, Celtic exhibited a command that has proven wholly elusive in this fledgling year. A one-goal advantage at half-time did not do justice to the one-sided nature of a tie that found the home side devoid of tussling qualities. Jefferies' side could not, or would not, get close to the cup holders. They tackled infrequently and poorly, but it was their crushing inability to retain possession that allowed Celtic to lord it for much of the afternoon.

Strachan could boast five new arrivals in the January transfer window. The new face in his starting line-up came from within, however, in the form of youth product Paul Caddis. The No.52 became the seventh player to be selected as a starter in the troublesome right-back role for the club this season, his elevation following a senior debut as a substitute in the previous week's scratchy win at Falkirk. He justified it with a pinpoint chipped cross from which McDonald opened the scoring.

With Barry Robson cup-tied and young players Koki Mizuno and Ben Hutchison held in reserve, only Samaras from Celtic's latest raft of recruits featured in the club's squad for the trip to Ayrshire.

Perhaps the Greek's very presence was all the hint that Vennegoor of Hesselink needed to buck up his ideas. The often lethargic-looking Dutchman was an all-action figure, chasing down loose balls, steaming into challenges and timing his jumps to decent effect. He and McDonald dovetailed impressively as Celtic took charge and Fraser Wright and Simon Ford struggled to contain a striker partnership Strachan likes to point out is among the most potent in the British game.

Keeper Alan Combe was the last and only line of the home side's defence that appeared capable of frustrating the duo. He smartly blocked at the feet of Vennegoor of Hesselink after Scott Brown had produced a lung-bursting run to play the striker in. Even when conceding the 22nd minute opener, Combe excelled. He deserved better from his defence after he made himself big to slap away a McDonald shot from close range following a backline-slicing exchange of passes between the Celtic front two. He didn't get better than Caddis being allowed to send in a ball from the right that McDonald smashed in at the near post.

Vennegoor then had a glancing header that grazed the post and led to a double save from Combe to deny McDonald before Kilmarnock seemed to come alive to the fact they were in a cup competition and therefore expected to compete. But competing has proved a dastardly difficult task for the Scottish Premier League's second-bottom side. Jefferies maintained he set his side up in a 4-3-3 formation but they never looked like anything other than a 4-5-1, except during a ten-minute spell before the interval when Artur Boruc failed to convince in spilling a long-range effort from Martyn Corrigan before Jamie Hamill sent a flashing drive across goal that only needed a touch.

Any prospects of a Kilmarnock revival were knocked on the head when the bonce of Gary Caldwell, towering above the home defence, sent a flick-on from Massimo Donati beyond Combe seven minutes into the second half, following a Shunsuke Nakamura corner.

Celtic's third six minutes later followed Aiden McGeady seizing on to a dreadful pass from substitute David Fernandez and feeding Vennegoor of Hesselink, who fair thumped the ball into the top corner from the left hand edge of the area. Kilmarnock gained temporary respite when Danny Invincibile hoisted a ball to the far post and Hamill headed in. But within a minute of this strike, McDonald had added his second of the afternoon after Vennegoor of Hesselink teed him up to slam in a low drive.

All that was left was for Samaras to provide an engaging cameo.

Someone should tell him it isn't always so easy.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink is often criticised for not appearing to offer enough but with a goal and a hand in two other strikes his lead-the-line contribution yesterday was as much as could be asked for from an attacking pivot.

ASIDE: Perhaps Georgios Samaras was keen to do his bit for ecumenism with glow-at-night orange boots. Or maybe the footwear was really tangerine and the forward was a childhood Dundee United fan.

Strachan delighted with contribution of his strikers

THREE strikers on the scoresheet was among the many aspects of Celtic's Scottish Cup win at Rugby Park that left manager Gordon Strachan a content figure yesterday. A goal from Georgios Samaras on his first appearance since joining the club on loan from Manchester City was an added bonus on a day when Scott McDonald took his season's tally to 20 with a double and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink netted.

"It isn't easy for the big man," Strachan said of Samaras. "He's only played seven games this season and big guys need more games. He gives us a different option." Team-mate Gary Caldwell was equally impressed. "He has only been training for a couple of days and he showed great feet and great composure." Strachan also praised his other forwards for "working extremely hard and putting pressure" on a Kilmarnock defence that yielded all too readily.

"With the damp, snow, sleet and win we had to be mentally strong and when we went for a walk this morning I saw that they were ready for the tie," Strachan said. "It was a big bonus that the surface was so good. I picked a team to win the ball back but we were able to move it about."

Strachan accepted the transfer window activity that led to him adding Andreas Hinkel, Barry Robson, Koki Mizuno, Ben Hutchison and Samaras – the only new signing involved yesterday – to his squad has "geed up" his charges. "With injuries, the championship can be a long, hard slog," Strachan said. "They have geed up training. They want to show they are good players and the guys already here are like 'look at me, I'm a good player too'."

Goalscorer Gary Caldwell believes the heightened competition for places that has been created by the new arrivals impact on matters on the field yesterday. "The boys know their are players ready to step in to their places and no-one wants to give up their places, so they put on a show," he said. "Start to finish we controlled the game, created loads of chances and that is as good as we have been for a long time. The players who have come in have improved us even without playing."

Jim Jefferies had cause to bemoan players not playing who were on the park, meanwhile. "We went into the game with nothing to lose, it should have been all about having a go and making a name, even if we were not in the best of form and lacking confidence," he said. "But we had to get in their faces and get tight on them and we didn't do that. We gave them too much room and they destroyed us."