Lennon hails Celtic strikers

14 February 2011 07:30

Celtic manager Neil Lennon hailed his team's attacking threat after they restored their five-point lead over Rangers with a 3-1 Clydesdale Bank Premier League victory against Dundee United at Tannadice.

Anthony Stokes and Mark Wilson benefited from deflections to put Celtic in command before the break and defender Daniel Majstorovic dived to head home a 78th-minute clincher after David Goodwillie had got United back in the game.

"I thought the front two set the tone. In the first half they were sensational," Lennon said. "We could easily have gone in with a more comfortable lead."

He added: "At 2-0 you are always concerned that Dundee United could get back in the game, and they did.

"But there was a real belief about the team that they could have got another one, which they did, and really we should have picked Dundee United off a lot better on the counter-attack when they were throwing bodies forward.

"We got a bit of luck with the first two goals but I thought we earned it. We missed easier chances and should have been more clinical at times, but the fact we created quality chances really pleased me.

"I'm really pleased with the threat we have and we defended solidly too."

Lennon played down a fresh injury to Scott Brown, who came off early in the second half after shaking off a groin problem to start, but Cha Du-ri has a more serious ankle issue following his return from South Korea duty.

"Cha took a bad one. We are sending him to see another specialist to get another opinion," Lennon said. "We are hoping that he will not require surgery, but even if he doesn't require surgery he will be out for a significant period of time.

"He felt it in the first day of training when he came back. He seemed to jar his tendon. It was pretty innocuous really because he came through the training session okay and only really felt it afterwards."

Source: PA