NEIL Lennon’s Celtic side have been in outstanding form throughout the 2019/20 season, scoring an incredible 141 goals in all competitions, an increase of 37 on the same time last year.

So trying to select a shortlist of 10 for the annual Goal of the Season Award, sponsored by Magners, has been a tough task.

While the winning goal will be voted for by the Celtic fans, assistant manager John Kennedy has his own favourites from the season, with one moment in Rome getting the nod from him.

Speaking to the Celtic View podcast, John Kennedy said: “For emotion alone, it would probably be Olivier’s goal against Lazio. Not so much for the actual goal itself – although it was a great chip – but more for what it gave us and what it meant to everyone.

“You could see the reaction from the dugout and on the pitch, and then you looked round the stadium and there were a lot of Celtic fans there, and the reaction from them was special. You remember these things, and Olivier will certainly remember that moment for a long time to come.

“Domestically, there have been a few good ones. Ryan Christie had a good goal against St Johnstone in the first game of the season – that was a good strike. Olivier had another good one against Partick Thistle – a long-range shot into the top corner.

“But don’t get Kris Ajer too excited because he’ll love the fact that he’s in the running for Goal of the Season. As a team build-up, Kris’ goal against Motherwell was great.”

Callum McGregor’s stunning strike against Motherwell at Fir Park back in February is also amongst the shortlisted goals, but the Hoops assistant manager revealed there was an element of good fortune to the goal.

“That was a bobble first touch!” he said. “I remember speaking to Cal after the game and I said to him, ‘You didn’t mean that, did you?’, and he said, no, it just popped up in front of him and he thought he’d hit it! It did look good, though.

“It’s always hard to choose just one goal because there have been a few really good ones, but if I had to choose one, it would be Olivier’s against Lazio over in Rome, just because of what it meant to everybody.”

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Olivier's late winner over Lazio gets John Kennedy's vote