Neil Lennon told his players they have set the standard for the rest of the season with their comprehensive 4-0 Clydesdale Bank Premier League win over Hearts at Tynecastle.
They responded to their shock home 1-0 defeat by Inverness at the weekend in fine style in Gorgie as goals from striker Lassad Nouioui, right-back Mikael Lustig, a Ryan Stevenson own goal and a strike from Gary Hooper took them a point ahead of Hibernian with a game in hand.
The Hoops boss said: "They have set the bar and I know they are capable of those performances. I have seen it time and again."
He went on: "It was a performance I was looking for, regardless of the result. If we had won 1-0 I would have been delighted but to win it so emphatically was so pleasing.
"It was a great performance. There was a real intensity about them and I got the reaction I was looking for."
Hearts manager John McGlynn, who revealed Jason Holt and Dylan McGowan picked up injuries which puts them in doubt for Sunday's Scottish Cup tie against Edinburgh rivals Hibernian, was "demoralised" by Celtic stopper Fraser Forster's performance.
He said:" "I can understand why Forster has been put up into the England squad because he made some great saves, that could have turned the game back into our favour.
"He had a great save from a free-kick and Callum Paterson had a free header from another free-kick. He even saved the penalty.
"You get your chances and he pulls off some great saves, so it is very difficult.
"So I think the scoreline was harsh on us. I'm led to believe the statistics were a lot closer than the scoreline was. It was 3-0 at half-time but it could have been 2-2."
Source: PA
