Neil Lennon makes big claim after Celtic beat Ross County

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 23: Leigh Griffiths of Celtic is congratulated by Neil Lennon, Manager of Celtic after being substituted during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Ross County at Celtic Park on December 23, 2020 in Glasgow, Scotland. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 23: Leigh Griffiths of Celtic is congratulated by Neil Lennon, Manager of Celtic after being substituted during the Ladbrokes Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Ross County at Celtic Park on December 23, 2020 in Glasgow, Scotland. The match will be played without fans, behind closed doors as a Covid-19 precaution. (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images) /
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Another win for Celtic against Ross County on Wednesday meant a happier Christmas for the fans and players too. Neil Lennon reckons there is a lot more to come.

The 2-0 home win came on the back of the extended rollercoaster of a Cup final. The Celtic players came together well against Ross County after the weekend’s record-breaking and no doubt tiring exploits.

Lennon was able to make some changes, partly forced by injuries to Shane Duffy and Scott Brown. He also chose to start Leigh Griffiths, for the first time in a league game this season. And played him alongside Odsonne Edouard, reuniting the duo that were so deadly in the latter part of last season.

Griffiths scored a superb headed goal in the second half. Edouard was able to create a few scoring chances and attempts on target, but couldn’t get the ball in the back of the net. David Turnbull added to his claims for regular starts with a great performance and goal. It was also interesting to see Conor Hazard taking his place in goal again. He seems to be the number one at the moment.

The 2-0 win was comfortable enough in the end and as the Glasgow Times reports, Lennon was pretty pleased with the result and the performance from his team. He talked about the greater opportunities his team created during the match. It’s a big improvement from the games where the team weren’t even able to get many attempts on target:

"“I’d have liked more goals because I think our play deserved that.“If we keep playing like that we’re going to give somebody a right good going over.“We missed some great chances and the quality of what we created was high. I am delighted, though. It was a good performance. Overall I am really pleased and it’s a step in the right direction.“There is a feelgood factor. We just want to keep the squad bubbling over now.“We are still a long way back and we won’t get too high or too low. It’s a game at a time but we are taking steps in the right direction.“Griff got 80 minutes and scored a great goal – but he should have had a hat-trick.“Odsonne (Edouard) should have scored too and we missed some chances in the second half to rack up a really good scoreline.”"

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The confidence did look better, but we also saw how that can disappear quickly as it did in the second half of the Cup final. There was plenty of promise and it’s great to see Griffiths back, both starting the game and finishing off a goal chance. He had others, and as Lennon says probably should have scored more. With more game time his sharpness will increase.

Lennon does suggest that if it can all click at once then his team may well give a hammering to an opposition in an upcoming game. A right good going over, to be precise. Maybe that lies in team selection and formation, maybe it’ll come from Edouard progressing further and getting his chances in the net more often.

Some fans were frustrated that he didn’t score against Ross County, others noted that he was at least getting good chances on target, which is an improvement and one which will surely lead to more goals at some point soon. That perhaps is the real key to that hammering of an opponent.

It’d be too much to hope for that at Ibrox, but perhaps Hamilton and Dundee United need to beware.

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