Defiant Lennon refuses to admit dream is over
Neil Lennon last night insisted Celtic’s 10-in-a-row dream is not over yet.
The Hoops manager watched his side slide to 19 points behind Rangers because of their loss at Ibrox.
Even with three games in hand that leaves them a mountain to climb between now and May but he was in defiant mood as he looked ahead to the rest of the campaign.
Asked if the situation was still retrievable he replied: “Yes. We have a lot of work to do now but you have got to keep going.
“You can’t just say it’s over because there is still a lot of football to be played.
“We have to be a lot more consistent in the second half of the season than we have been in the first half.
“There was plenty of belief in that performance.
“If we keep playing like that, we won’t have any problems at all. Our performances of late have been excellent and I thought we were excellent today.
“Just a little bit at the end, even, when Elyounoussi could have slipped Edouard in – he was clean through – and misses the pass.
“You think it just isn’t our day today. The manner of their goal, the red card, all those things went against us today.”
The Celtic manager took particular issue with the sending off of Nir Bitton on the hour mark.
“It’s a sore one because we were the dominant team. We played brilliantly and I didn’t think it was a red card,” he said.
“That obviously gave Rangers a bit of encouragement and they got lucky with the goal.
“I don’t think they had an attempt on target so that suggests how well we played, even with 10 men.
“We are bitterly disappointed not to come away with something. I thought we deserved a lot more.
“We came here to win and we played that way so we are disappointed with the decision and the result but not the performance. It’s funny, you dominate the game so much. We looked assured, strong.
“We were by far the dominant team then come away with nothing. That happens in football sometimes. I don’t think we got what we deserved today.
“Over the past few derby games everyone has been saying Rangers have been the better team but I think today we were the better team.
“We made them look laborious at times and we were well on top.
“Allan Mcgregor got man of the match, which speaks volumes for our performance. There is no doubt the sending off had a huge impact on the game.”
His position was lent support by Rangers manager Steven Gerrard.
“There are 48 points to play for – no one will be getting carried away, we will keep our feet on the ground,” he said.
“The league starts now for us. We need to reset and really go and try to get a positive result at Aberdeen.
“I’m really proud, really happy and satisfied with the three important points.
“In terms of what the players have given from the start of the season until now, they have been superb.
“So the players deserve to enjoy tonight. It’s another derby win, that’s two out of two this season.
“We will give them a day or two off now to spend with their families. They have really sacrificed themselves over Christmas.
“But it’s about re-setting in midweek once we start our work towards Aberdeen.”