GLASGOW (AFP) - Gordon Strachan watched Celtic crush Inverness Caledonian Thistle 5-0 to move top of the Scottish Premier League - then insisted his side can get even better.

The SPL champions took advantage after Rangers dropped their first points of the campaign, with a 4-2 defeat away to Hearts, to move above their Old Firm rivals for the first time this season.

In addition to three vital league points the victory allows Celtic to travel to Ukraine, for their Champions League group opener against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday, on a high.

However, Strachan has warned the rest of the SPL that his team's main aim this season remains the SPL title and that they can improve further.

The Celtic manager said: "I keep saying that my priority is to win the league.

"I know we are a good side, I've told the players that and they trust me, and they have proved they are a good side.

"But they can get better. We aim to do things to the maximum of our abilities and try for perfection and although we've not achieved that yet we're doing okay.

"This is the best start we've had to a season since I've been here so it's not too bad."

While the SPL may well be Celtic's priority, the ease of their victory on Saturday allowed Strachan to substitute key players Scott Brown, Dutch striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Australian forward Scott McDonald before the final whistle with one eye on Tuesday's match.

In addition, the Celtic manager admitted going top of the table will help his team's confidence as they set off on their journey to emulate last season's run to the last 16 of the Champions League.

Strachan said: "The result and the performance on Saturday gave us the chance to rest a few players at the end of the game with Tuesday in mind.

"Before the game we knew Rangers had lost and we could go top.

"It's always nice to know you can go top of the league before your match but if we had not made it then it would have been a downer for us before the Donetsk game."

Strachan was also pleased with the form of McDonald and Irish Republic international Aiden McGeady.

He said: "Scott has been great for us and he put in a fantastic cross for the fourth goal and he's driven to the touchline, knocked it back and we've got an own goal from that so I thought his work-rate was good.

"Aiden was terrific and had one of those days when you just give him the ball. We can have tactics but when a player is on fire you just give him the ball."

Celtic had taken a 15th minute lead when Brown's shot from 20-yards was directed into the corner of the net by Vennegoor of Hesselink's thigh from eight-yards.

In the 41st minute Celtic's Italian midfielder Massimo Donati doubled his side's advantage with a superbly taken goal.

After playing a one-two with McDonald the former AC Milan player skipped past Ross Tokely and, from a seemingly impossible angle, curled the ball past goalkeeper Michael Fraser into the opposite corner of the net.

Japanese international Shunsuke Nakamura put Celtic three up in the 56th minute with another spectacular goal, unleashing an unstoppable left-shot from 30-yards into the top corner.

And two minutes later McDonald's cross found Vennegoor of Hesselink at the back post and his downward header found the net.

The scoring was completed in the 70th minute when McDonald's cutback deflected off Caley defender Philip Maguire to wrong-foot Fraser.