Neil Lennon praises double Dutchman Virgil van Dijk

Virgil van Dijk heads home his first goal for Celtic to break the deadlock against Ross County in Dingwall. Picture: SNS

Van Dijk netted twice in the 4-1 win over Ross County in Dingwall which maintains the Scottish champions unbeaten record in the Premiership so far this season.

The 22-year-old is proving the pick of Celtic’s summer recruits and delivered another eye-catching display as Lennon’s men bounced back from their midweek Champions League defeat to Ajax in Amsterdam.

“Virgil is a special player and is playing exceptionally well at the moment,” said Lennon. “There’s no doubt he has got goals in his game as well. He has just been a bit off with his timing at times and we have worked with him on that. I’m delighted he has been able to come up with two headed goals.”

Joe Ledley also scored two headers for Celtic, something Lennon believes has been long overdue from his team.

“It’s been a constant source of frustration that we don’t score enough headers from set pieces,” added Lennon. “We have been waiting on one, then we get four in one day. It was a good day all around and it puts pressure on the rest of the teams to stay with us.

“There was a freshness about the team today and we can see some of the new boys blending in now. When you make as many changes as we did, there is always a worry about how the team are going to play. But the pitch suited us today, and we played very well.

“It was a great reaction from Wednesday night. We have preserved our unbeaten record in the league, which delights me.”

Ross County manager Derek Adams offered nothing in the way of mitigation for his outclassed team.

“I’ve got no complaints,” said Adams. “We tried to stifle Celtic and it worked for 40 minutes until they got their first goal.”