NEIL Lennon was delighted with his team’s performance in their 2-0 win over St Mirren and praised his players for overcoming the psychological test they have endured with the recent schedule.

Celtic maintained their position at the top of the Scottish Premiership with a convincing win at Paradise against a resolute St Mirren defence.

Neil Lennon’s side faced St Mirren three days after defeating Aberdeen 4-0 at Pittodrie, and the two goals meant Celtic have now scored 12 goals in their last three league games, all without conceding a single goal.

The Celtic manager said he was pleased with how his players have handled the physical and psychological challenges over the last week, including their 2-1 win over Lazio in the Europa League.

“It was a difficult game, difficult opponents and difficult circumstances off the back of the intensity of the last few games, and they're sometimes psychologically difficult games,” said the manager. “You could see that in the first half a little bit. We were a little bit hesitant, if you want to call it that.

“We still created some decent chances but the response after half-time was fantastic and my only gripe is that we didn't win the game by more. We had good chances in the second half to go three four up. It's a very good performance in the midst of a very heavy schedule of games.”

Greg Taylor made his Hoops debut and Neil Lennon praised the 21-year-old for his display in defence and in attack.

“I’m delighted with him,” said Neil Lennon. “It was a good debut and solid defensively. He showed that consistency in defence and going forward. He can be delighted. You have to remember, this was his first game a long time so it was really important that he got the minutes and that will stand him in good stead going forward.”

James Forrest signed a new four-year contract hours before the game and the 28-year-old marked the occasion with another goal to take his tally for the season to 10.

“James was brilliant,” said his manager. “I don't care how much money we pay him, he’s priceless to me. His all-round game tonight was exceptionally high. His inventiveness and his intelligence was excellent.

“He’s in his peak years now. He’s score a lot of goals already and we’re only a quarter of the way through the season, which is an amazing return for any calibre of player. “He's a treble player of the year and an international player of the year. He's not going anywhere. We have him secured and he's happy.”

Neil Lennon pleased with mentality of Celtic in St Mirren win