NEIL Lennon last night insisted that he and his players are taking nothing for granted - despite Celtic moving 10 points clear of Rangers at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership.
The home supporters in the 57,431-strong crowd at Parkhead celebrated at the end of their team’s resounding 5-0 win over Hearts when they heard their nearest challengers had been beaten 2-1 by Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
However, Lennon, whose side is bidding to win a record-equalling ninth consecutive Scottish title this season, stressed that the defending champions have won nothing even though they are now comfortably ahead of Steven Gerrard’s side.
“It gives them a bit of confidence,” he said. “We have a tricky game on Sunday at Pittodrie. Aberdeen had a great win last night and we’re taking absolutely nothing for granted.
“That’ll be the message to the players and they know that. We know there’s a long way to go and there will be twists and turns. We just have to concentrate on each game as they come along.
“Mentality and psychology in any sport is huge. When you have (Scott) Brown, (Callum) McGregor, (James) Forrest, guys who have been over the course for a long time, it gives you that comfort. They know not to get too down when they get beat and not too high when they win. Stay on that level.”
Asked if he had a message for the supporters who had rejoiced at the end of the 90 minutes, Lennon said: “You’re amazing, thank you for your support and we’ll do all we can to keep entertaining you. They’re the best fans in the world as far as I’m concerned.”
Rangers, who have a game in hand at home against St Johnstone still to play, moved to within two points of Celtic at the top of the Premiership table with a 2-1 win at Parkhead at the end of December.
Lennon stressed the turnaround since play resumed after the winter shutdown – they have now won eight wins in succession - shows how fortunes can change quickly.
“That’s the way football goes,” he said. “We kept calm and we just do what we do best conscientiously behind the scenes with the support network there. You can see the players’ fitness levels are very good. The squad is looking stronger as well.
“They were magnificent - the desire and hunger to play, scoring goals, their running. Everything you want as a manager from a team I got. It was an emphatic win and an outstanding second half performance.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here