Ange Postecoglou has refused to put the blame on Celtic's defensive struggles on the absence of Cameron Carter-Vickers.
It was a lacklustre display from the Scottish Premiership champions as Curtis Main caused havoc for the home side. The frontman fired beyond Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart after shrugging off makeshift defender Tomoki Iwata for the opener. Talisman Kyogo Furuhashi brought the game level but Main took advantage of a mishap at the back to fire Stephen Robinson's men into the lead.
Postecoglou's side charged forward to keep their unblemished record at Celtic Park alive this season, when captain Callum McGregor slotted the ball home with less than ten to play as the points where shared at Parkhead. The goal from the skipper saved the side from back-to-back defeats after defeats from Rangers last weekend.
Iwata came into the side in defensive to cover for benched Yuki Kobayashi - who had struggled to get to grips with Michael Beale's side at Ibrox. However, Postecgolou dismissed chat that they couldn't handle life without the American international.
Postecoglou told BBC Sportsound: "It was a tough game. St Mirren are a good team and that's why they are where they are this season. We never really got to grips with the game and it was a bit of a struggle all throughout for us.
"It's fair to say we have gone off in the last couple of weeks, particularly on the defensive side. When you do that it's very hard then for us to play the way we want to."
Pressed on the "evident" impact of the loss of Carter-Vickers, irked Postecoglou responded: "I guarantee you, 1000 per cent, it's not just one player. It's nothing to do with Cameron Carter-Vickers.
"We have missed Cameron Carter-Vickers for games before. We have played Champions League football without Cameron Carter-Vickers. So that's the easy thing to look at. We are not working as hard off the ball as we were prior to winning the title. That's what happens."
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