'These Players Keep Going And They've Got A Great Belief In What They're Doing'

“The forward lads are also trying to do what they can up there, but when teams are sitting with 10 behind the ball, that makes things very difficult for us. But again, this team keeps going, and we ultimately got what we deserved. Other teams would have drawn and would have gone away happy with that, but this team just doesn’t do that.

- Joe Donnelly

IT was fitting that Neil Lennon’s first visit to Dens Park since returning as Celtic manager ended in late drama.

With almost two-thirds of possession during Sunday’s SPFL encounter, it took a wonderful move and finish from Odsonne Edouard to undo a steadfast Dundee in the 95th minute – the second time in less than three weeks the 21-year-old Frenchman has bagged a last-gasp winner for the Scottish champions. Rewind just over 18 years to Neil Lennon’s debut as a Celtic player, and Martin O’Neill’s side overcame the same team at the same stadium in similar circumstances, when the Hoops defeated Dundee 2-1 at Dens Park on December 10, 2000. That evening, another Frenchman, Didier Agathe, secured maximum points for the Paradise side with a late winner.

For Neil Lennon, winning in these circumstances underscores a team’s resilience and determination, something he thinks becomes magnified under the pressure and expectation of playing for and managing Celtic.

“This team doesn’t know when to stop,” said the manager following Sunday’s 1-0 win over Dundee at Dens Park. “In recent weeks, there was Kilmarnock away with Broony, there was Odsonne at Hearts away, and then again on Sunday. It’s not luck and it’s not coincidence. These players keep going and they’ve got a great belief in what they’re doing.

“I would like us to be a little more urgent with the ball, but I can’t have everything. Now, we can take stock for a few days. The 10 points is a significant lead, and that’s what we set out to do against Dundee, so it’s brilliant to have done that.”