Celtic remain six points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership despite being held to a goalless draw with Kilmarnock at Parkhead on Saturday.

The Hoops dominated possession but lacked the creative spark to get behind an organised Kilmarnock defence.

Leigh Griffiths forced Jamie MacDonald into a couple of decent saves and Dedryck Boyata sent a powerful header crashing off the bar in stoppage as Celtic were left frustrated.

It is the second time this season the Hoops have failed to beat Killie after they were held to a 2-2 draw with the Rugby Park side in August.

"It was very frustrating as over the 90 minutes we had 70 per cent possession," Celtic manager Ronny Deila fumed.

"Today we had a lack of tempo, creativity and timing in the last third of the pitch. We didn't create enough but we still should have won the game."

Kilmarnock manager Gary Locke was pleased to pick up a point.

"The game plan we worked on all week worked a treat and we probably could have nicked it in the end with a couple of chances on the counter attack," Locke said.

"I could not be happier with the performance."

Hearts missed out on the chance to close the gap at the top after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Dundee at Tynecastle although Aberdeen could move to within five points of the Hoops if they defeat Hamilton on Sunday.

Celtic had been given a pre-match boost with the return of captain Scott Brown after an absence of four weeks but an illness ruled out Kris Commons.

The Hoops skipper came in for some close attention from the Killie players early on with Josh Magennis seeing yellow for his crude challenge on the midfielder.

After a low-key start, the first real opportunity of the match fell to top-scorer Griffiths who did well to control a long ball over the top of the Killie defence but then fired a weak effort straight at MacDonald.

Australian international Tom Rogic dragged a shot wide and James Forrest had his effort blocked as the Killie defence continued to frustrate Celtic.

Celtic started the second half in determined fashion and MacDonald had to be alert to push a fierce free-kick from Griffiths round the post in the 48th minute.

The Hoops striker then fired just over after the ball broke to him in the box as the Scottish champions tried to find an opener.

Celtic dominated possession and remained camped in the Kilmarnock half but a combination of some rugged organisation and desperate defending kept the Hoops at bay.

Kilmarnock had rarely managed over the half way line but came close to an opener in the 83rd minute when Greg Kiltie fired a fierce strike at Craig Gordon which the keeper managed to turn round the post. Magennis had his header held from the resultant corner before Tope Obadeyi had an angled shot stopped by Gordon.

Skipper Brown looked to drive Celtic forward and unleashed a powerful shot that MacDonald did well to keep out.

The Hoops were inches away from a winner in stoppage time as Boyata's header rattled the crossbar as the Belgian defender connected with a Griffiths free-kick swung in from the right.

Elsewhere, St Johnstone came from behind to earn a 2-1 victory over bottom of the table Dundee United at Tannadice, Partick Thistle earned a 2-1 win against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County ended a three game losing streak as they earned a 3-0 win over Motherwell, who slip to second bottom.