Interim Celtic manager Martin O'Neill preserved his perfect domestic record, as two goals in 33 first-half seconds helped defeat Hibernian and move the champions within two points of Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts with a game in hand.

The Northern Irishman revealed prior to this game that he now expects to stay in charge for Wednesday's visit of Dundee, while the paperwork for Wilfried Nancy's arrival is finalised.

And the 73-year-old earned a sixth win in seven matches during his stint thanks to goals by Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels.

Those knocked the stuffing out of Hibs, who had started well and spurned a couple of good chances when neither Martin Boyle nor Jamie McGrath could find the target.

A defensive mix-up soon made them regret their lack of precision. A poor pass out from goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger enabled Reo Hatate to steal easy possession close to the Hibs area and he squared for Maeda who rolled the ball into an empty net.

It was two within less than a minute when Engels took a boot to the face as he bravely headed in Hyun-Jun Yang's cross.

The game was nearly ended as a contest when Maeda back-heeled the ball into the path of the on-rushing full-back Marcelo Saracchi but his shot struck a post.

However, Hibs showed plenty of courage and quality after the interval and made a real game of it in the second half.

Martin Boyle's well-taken penalty, awarded after a video assistant referee review for a Liam Scales handball, created new energy and momentum but the Leith side just couldn't find an equaliser.

Chris Cadden came close in the dying minutes but his shot was very well saved by the sprawling legs of Kasper Schmeichel with the Celtic defence beaten.

This was a victory which bore all the hallmarks of the Celtic side of a year ago.

Energy, no little skill and relentless pressing. The elements which led the side to the brink of a famous win Champions League win at Bayern Munich in February but have been conspicuous by their absence pretty much ever since.

One cannot underestimate the impact of O'Neill. These are the same players Brendan Rodgers had at his disposal. They just look different.

Maeda and Hatate have been completely re-energised. The former was a constant menace; the latter, full of vision and creativity.

Then we come to the conundrum that is Yang. In fleeting glimpses across the past two years, he has shown what he can do.

Now, in back-to-back games, he's tormented two good sides in Feyenoord and Hibs and is delivering on the promise he's occasionally shown with assists and goals.

The biggest compliment you can give O'Neill is that Celtic are now starting to look far more like themselves. Were he to be given a much longer spell in charge, there might not be too many Parkhead supporters dissenting.

As for Hibs, they came out of the blocks like an Olympic sprinter but couldn't make their early enterprise count. Then, as Christmas decorations start to go up across the country, they gave Celtic a seasonal gift the champions were unlikely to refuse.

The self-inflicted nature of the first goal - and the speed of the second - made any kind of meaningful recovery difficult.

They gave it a good go but, nonetheless, it's consecutive defeats for David Gray's men for the first time since 23 November last year.

Hibernian head coach David Gray: "For very large periods we were on top. We definitely deserved to get something.

"I saw everything I asked the players to do. You need to take your chances against a team like Celtic, that's something that's maybe let us down today.

"You give Celtic a two-goal head start, it's a difficult thing [to come back from]. The players maybe got spooked by that. We saw a really positve reaction second half."

Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill: "We played some really, really lovely football again [in the first half]. The last 20-odd minutes [in the second half], I was so, so pleased with the team.

"The second half I knew Hibs would come strong. That's when the tiredness sets in, so for us to see the game through was pleasing."

It's back to back home games for Hibs, with Falkirk visiting Easter Road next Saturday on Premiership duty (15:00 GMT).

Celtic welcome Dundee on Wednesday (19:45). It's likely to be O'Neill's last game in interim charge. Mind you, we've heard that before...