Stefan Johansen praises "professional" Celtic

Stefan Johansen has praised Celtic for earning a "professional" win over Ross County on the opening day of the new Scottish Premiership season.

The midfielder found the net for the champions at Celtic Park on Saturday as they kicked off their title defence with a 2-0 victory.

While admitting that their performance was far from complete, Johansen insists that the Hoops did what they needed to do ahead of Wednesday's crucial Champions League qualifier away to Azerbaijani side Qarabag FK.

"We wanted to go out and put pressure on them with an early goal and we got a second one as well," he told the club's official website. "The second half wasn't too good, but at the end of the day, we got three points and it was a good game before the one on Wednesday.

"The Champions League is such an important thing for the club and everyone. The focus is also on that but we wanted to be professional today."

Johansen scored 13 goals in 56 appearances for Celtic last season.