SCOTT Brown said that Celtic must build on their impressive Scottish Cup semi-final performance and maintain the momentum in the upcoming games. The Hoops outplayed Aberdeen at Hampden three days on from their impressive display against Lille in the Europa League.

The champions scored two first-half goals through Ryan Christie and Mohamed Elyounoussi and kept the Dons at bay in the second period with a controlled display to secure a 2-0 win and book their place in next month’s final against Hearts.

The victory Celtic’s winning run in domestic cup competition to 35 games, and Brown praised the team spirit which delivered another win at the National Stadium.

“I thought we were excellent in the first half,” said the Celtic captain. “We moved the ball really well and looked more like what we are used to doing. We managed to score two great goals and we could have scored a couple more in the first half against a good Aberdeen team who were very organised.

“In the second half, Aberdeen were throwing people forward but the main thing was we defended really well as a team from back to front and managed to keep a clean sheet.

“It’s not just the defence, it’s the whole team. It starts at the front, there’s always a way we can stop it at its source. It’s not just about who puts it in the net, it’s about how we defend as a team from the front all the way to the back.”

Neil Lennon’s side are back in European action this Thursday (November 5), with Sparta Prague coming to Glasgow. There’s no let up for the champions who will then travel to Fir Park three days later to face Motherwell.

“It was a great performance against Aberdeen and we have to build on it and make sure we keep playing his way and keep this momentum going,” said the Celtic skipper. “For us, it’s about making sure we get those improvements and keep building on them weekly.

“We have to look forward now, we have a huge game coming up during the week. It’s about kicking on now. We’ll look to take this into Thursday and try and build on that from Thursday to Sunday."

Scott Brown: We'll build momentum now after Hampden win