'Flamboyant' Celtic moving in right direction says Neil Lennon, as he addresses Dundee Utd and Rangers matches

Neil Lennon has hailed his “flamboyant” Celtic team after they scored three second-half goals to ease past Hamilton Accies in atrocious conditions.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon during his side's impressive 3-0 win over Hamilton Accies in atrocious conditions (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

A goalless first half placed more pressure on the visitors after Rangers’ earlier victory over Hibs had stretched the Ibrox side’s lead at the top to 19 points.

A more dynamic second half in terms of taking chances provided further evidence that playing Leigh Griffiths and Odsonne Edouard together in attack is Celtic’s’ best hope of success.

Edouard’s penalty after 50 minutes set Celtic on their way and the Frenchman made the other two goals, setting up Griffiths four minutes later. David Turnbull later turned in the loose ball after Edouard’s header rebounded off a post.

“I thought we were outstanding today,” said Lennon. “We were brilliant in the first half and should have been two or three up. The attitude and approach of the players was tremendous in dreadful conditions and on a plastic pitch.

“It's the best we've played for a while. The body language of the players was excellent.

“We could have won the game by a lot more. It's the quality of chances we're creating now, which we weren't doing previously. We're looking a lot more like ourselves.”

With Dundee United to be faced in midweek, Lennon was cautious about making any great claims about a corner having been turned ahead of Saturday’s crucial trip to Ibrox. But Celtic have now won three league games in a row, keeping three clean sheets.

“I wouldn't make predictions about the game at Ibrox, it's too early for that,” he said. “But are they capable of going there and winning? Yeah, they've proved in the past they can do it. We've got Dundee United first on Wednesday so it's one step at a time. But we're moving forward in the right direction.

“I want us to play more like that and keep creating chances. There was more flamboyance about us today. All we can do is keep putting pressure on. We have to get our own house in order before thinking about other teams. We're starting to do that.”

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