Neil Lennon watched his Celtic side steal a march at the top of the Ladbrokes Premiership and then urged his players to relish the pressure of the title race.
Celtic’s 4-0 victory over Livingston put them three points ahead of Rangers at the summit, although the Ibrox side can rein their Glasgow rivals back in if they win at Hamilton today.
It’s a nip and tuck situation with little room for error but Lennon wants his team to embrace the challenge of this closely fought battle for supremacy.
He said: “Psychologically that’s a good win for us. We can enjoy our Sunday. You get 24 hours to enjoy it, see what the (Rangers) result brings then move on to the next one.
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“I think you either relish it or fear it. So relish it. It’s great. Maybe it is something new for some of the players but I feel they are taking on the challenge well and I think the fans are enjoying it as well. There will be anxious moments as we go along, dips and troughs but we are in a strong position currently and playing brilliantly.
“We were very powerful today. Not just because of our fitness levels and the way we battled for second balls, but our football was superb.
“It was a comprehensive win against a tough team to beat at times. We were outstanding and when you come back from two weeks off you always worry that momentum will be lost.
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“But there was no sign of that at all. These games can bite you but our professionalism and intent was terrific.”
Lennon’s Livingston counterpart, Gary Holt, watched his side lose their seventh match in the last 10 and added: “I know everyone will pick up the papers and look at it as 4-0 but I just thought individual mistakes at times in the game cost us.”
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