VICTORY DANCE
Lennon delight as Celtic show mettle to reach last four JOHN McGARRY
NEIL LENNON paid tribute to the cast-iron mentality of his Celtic players as they bounced back from their European exit to retain their grip on the Scottish Cup.
Ryan Christie’s late goal against St Johnstone ensured the Parkhead club’s stranglehold on the domestic honours continued despite the disappointment of going out of the Europa League to Copenhagen three days previously.
Celtic will now face Aberdeen in next month’s semi-final — a repeat of last season’s clash at that stage — as they close in on the possibility of a fourth successive domestic Treble.
Asked how important it was to quickly put the European reverse out of their minds, Lennon said: ‘They are good that way. They didn’t have long to dwell on it. It was only a couple of minutes in the game on Thursday that they let themselves down, a couple of basic mistakes.
‘I didn’t think we got what we deserved on Thursday. I thought we were the better team. But we got
punished for lackadaisical mistakes, which is not like us. That’s Europe gone for this season and we still have a lot to play for domestically.’ Fulsome in his praise for the way his players retained their levels of concentration on a muddy surface at McDiarmid Park, Lennon added: ‘Yeah, and their fitness levels were good, too. Some of them were out on their feet at the end, which is understandable. ‘You know what? They are human beings and they can’t keep churning out result after result and performance after performance. People expect that of them but it’s not easy. ‘There is a good core there and they just will not leave it. There’s something in there that they just want to keep it going.’ Between the reigns of Brendan Rodgers and Lennon, Celtic have now racked up 34 consecutive domestic cup victories. ‘That’s amazing,’ Lennon offered. ‘They’ve faced some difficult opposition — and today was difficult, mentally and physically after Thursday. They have picked themselves up on a really heavy pitch and came through it unscathed.’ Lennon (right) was unsure whether Christopher Jullien or Christie had got the allimportant goal in Perth, saying: ‘I don’t know. Sky said Jullien scored it and he says he didn’t get a touch on it, but the run made the goal. ‘He got in the eyeline of the goalkeeper — who was absolutely marvellous today, by the way, really fantastic, he made some unbelievable saves in the second half — but I think it went straight in.’ Lennon will monitor the fitness of Callum McGregor and James Forrest ahead of Wednesday’s trip to Livingston. ‘He got whacked by a clearance from (Nir) Bitton,’ he said of McGregor. ‘Bitton’s calling it a pass! Callum was in agony and needed a caffeine shot or something. I don’t know what it was — a magic potion. He should be fine.’ On Forrest, who was hobbling towards the end, Lennon said: ‘We’ll see how he is. It was a dead leg but I’m hoping he’ll be okay for Wednesday.’ Meanwhile, reports in France last night claimed Celtic will offer Odsonne Edouard an improved contract — with a gentleman’s agreement that he can move on in 2021. The French striker is contracted until 2022 but is likely to be the subject of concrete bids this summer. It’s claimed Celtic will now offer the 22-year-old a substantial pay hike — provided he agrees to stay for one more season.