It's Great To Be Back

Neil Lennon was delighted with his side’s five-star start to competitive football on Flag Day

- Joe Donnelly

During his first spell as Celtic manager, Neil Lennon enjoyed back-to-back Flag Day victories while clinching the first three of the current nine in-a-row run – beating Aberdeen 1-0 at the start of the 2012/13 campaign, and overcoming Ross County 2-1 the following year.

After returning to the Paradise dugout in last year, he savoured a 7-0 win over St Johnstone ahead of last season’s league-winning trail, and last weekend watched his players put five past Hamilton inside an empty Celtic Park.

The latter marked Celtic’s first taste of competitive football in almost five months, which for Neil Lennon made the victory the most important of his perfect Flag Day streak.

“I think Sunday’s 5-1 result was even bigger than scoring seven goals last Flag Day, definitely,” said the manager in an exclusive interview with the Celtic View. “You just don’t know because with any layoff as a player, I remember, you’d always have your doubts about how the first game would go after some time away.

“I felt like we were a little undercooked going into the game, having only played a few games, but the players handled it brilliantly. Their fitness was very, very good and that’s down to the fitness team in the background and all the work they’ve done. The quality of the goals were fantastic and, again, that’s down to the hard work the players have done behind the scenes and on the training ground.”