Hamilton 1 Celtic 4 /Lennon hails psychological advantage over Rangers

Neil Lennon says Celtic now have a significant psychological advantage in the title race after their 4-1 win at Hamilton Accies, writes Stephen Halliday.

They made the most of rivals Rangers having dropped two points at home to Aberdeen the previous day, coming from behind to overcome bottom of the table Accies with a late flurry of goals. Celtic are seven points clear of Rangers at the top of the Premiership, having played a game more.

Lennon ran on to the pitch, right, to celebrate the second of Odsonne Edouard’s two goals and the Celtic manager admitted that was an indication of how vital a win was in the context of the quest for a ninth consecutive title.

“It’s called relief,” he said. “You want to capitalise and make the most of

3 FROM BACK PAGE

things. When the third went in, we had three points wrapped up.

“Psychologically, it’s good. I’m thinking it’s four points rather than seven as I’m assuming the opposition will win their game. But it’s the first buffer we’ve had for a while.

“I wasn’t happy with the first half and losing a goal from a set play is disappointing but the reaction of the players was very good. I’m proud of them and the momentum we have built at the start of the year is fantastic.”

Hamilton No 2 Guillaume Beuzelin, in charge as manager Brian Rice began his five-match suspension for gambling offences, had no complaints about the 34th-minute dismissal of defender Jamie Hamilton for a foul on Leigh Griffiths.

But Beuzelin felt Griffiths should have been sent off earlier for a clash with Sam Woods which referee Nick Walsh deemed only worthy of a yellow card. “We all thought that on the bench and we were 30 metres away,” he said. “Maybe the angle the ref had meant he couldn’t see. If it happened, it would have been a massive turnaround.”