Lennon revels in victory

Celtic boss Neil Lennon claimed his side's 2-0 win over St Mirren was the most difficult of their 12-match winning run in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

At a wind-swept St Mirren Park the league leaders went in front in the 71st minute when James Forrest took a pass from Scott Brown and beat Craig Samson from the edge of the box and with three minutes remaining the Hoops skipper grabbed number two with a wonderful curling shot from the edge of the box to secure the win.

Speaking about win number 12, which includes a win over Rangers at Celtic Park and is the club's best SPL run in four years, the Parkhead boss said: "In terms of the run we've been on that was our toughest game."

He added: "Credit to St Mirren and obviously conditions played a huge part in the game as well but I'm thrilled with the win and thrilled with the clean sheet. It was a huge win in the context of the season."

The Celtic boss revealed he had urged Brown to get on the scoresheet before the match. Lennon said: "I challenged him before the game to get a goal for us if he could.

"I also wanted a big performance from him and I got both. I thought he was sensational today. He loves those types of games.

"His reading of the game was very good, he broke up the play and he was driving the game for us and to cap it off with a beautiful goal speaks volumes for him. Some people wonder why I put him in the team, well it was there for all to see today."

St Mirren boss Danny Lennon tried to take some positives from the defeat.

"It was disappointing that we didn't get a result but I took a great deal from the level of performance and I am very proud of the players in terms of their attitude and commitment," he said.

"You have to give Celtic a great deal of credit for their run and where they are but we kept them to five strikes at goal compared to our 13 and I thought their goalkeeper was absolutely fantastic."