HUNGER - NOT HUNGOVER

Neil Lennon hails his side for returning from the international break in sparkling form

- Tony Connelly

Neil Lennon was delighted to see that the international reak did nothing to derail Celtic’s current form as they returned to action with an excellent performance in the win over Livingston. The most pleasing aspect, though, was the hunger his side showed and it’s that aspect of his side which he believes will be decisive in crucial games which lie ahead.

Livingston arrived at Paradise clutching the accolade of being the only team in the country to have taken three points from Celtic this season. However, as the champions have shown throughout the last few months, they have grown stronger with every game, and their performance in the 4-0 win ensured there was no chance of losing their grasp on the three points.

Goals from Odsonne Edouard, Scott Brown and a brace from James Forrest made for an entertaining 90 minutes and gave Neil Lennon plenty to be excited about going into this week’s final UEFA Europa League home game of the group stages.

“T thought the performance at the weekend against Livingston was superb,” said Neil Lennon in an exclusive interview with the Celtic View. “They're a very difficult team to beat and a difficult team to play against. The win was comprehensive, as was the performance.

“Off the back of an international break, you always worry about momentum, but they just seemed to pick up from where they left off. 1 thought we had a really good performance in the first half and then we really poured on the pressure, in terms of goals, in the second half.

“The football was great and the quality of chances created was great. The pace that we played at was very good as well, so they’re not far away from the expectations we have of them.’