NEIL Lennon believes Celtic’s win in Italy has given the club and players added gravitas and feels the result will help the Hoops maintain their form ahead of a busy end to the first half of the season.

The Irishman became the first manager in the club’s history to lead a Celtic team to victory on Italian soil when his side defeated Lazio 2-1 in the Stadio Olimpico last night (Thursday).

Celtic defeated the Serie A side for the second time in two weeks to take their points tally in Group E to 10 and guarantee a place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League with two games to spare.

Neil Lennon highlighted the importance of winning in Italy for the first time and said the achievement has given everyone connected with the club an immense feeling of pride.

“From our point of view breaking that hoodoo of not winning in Italy was really important. It gives the club that little bit of extra gravitas and it gives the players that extra confidence.

“Lazio are a big club with quality players. For us that’s two games now and we needed those games. The fans needed the games and the players needed the games.

“The quality of football we played, particularly in the second half was unbelievable and came against a team that are bang in form. They’d just beaten AC Milan and to take the game to them that way just shows real bravery and that’s what we want from them.”

The Hoops boss remained composed and thoughtful when dwelling on the historic achievement as he underlined the significance of the result in the coming weeks.

“It’s a real good barometer for us going forward in the season,” he said. “The quality of the opposition and the pedigree of the competition will do the players and the club the world of good in terms of self-confidence.

“It’s not just about going deep into the Europa League, it’s about winning the league and the domestic competitions we’re in.

“Although we’ve qualified we still want to finish the group strongly and keep that momentum going into the new year. It’s good recognition for the game here which takes a battering sometimes. It’s good recognition for Scottish football.

“It was a proud night and one to savour. We have a big game coming up on Sunday so we can park that now and can look forward to a good atmosphere here on Sunday.”

Manager: There's immense pride to be taken from historic win in Italy