NEIL Lennon praised his players’ hunger to win after Celtic scored two late goals at McDiarmid Park to take all three points in a hard-fought game against St Johnstone. The champions had a tough afternoon against a spirited St Johnstone side, and Callum Davidson’s side almost held Celtic to a draw.

Substitute Leigh Griffiths emerged as the goal hero upon his return, to head home with only one minute remaining, before Patryk Klimala killed the game off in added time.

Speaking to Celtic TV after the game, Neil Lennon admitted Celtic were lacking in the final third in the first half, but credited his players for their unwavering desire to win.

“It’s a thoroughly deserved win but we didn’t play with any urgency in the first half or the way we want to play,” said the Celtic manager. “We didn’t put any quality into the box and we were lacking penetration and aggression with our play.

“I thought Shane Duffy had another great game at the back and Jeremie Frimpong was excellent. There are a lot of positives but the downside was we wasted 45 minutes today. There was too much passing and not enough penetration.

“Ryan put a great ball in when he came on. That’s what we were lacking in the first half, early quality crosses into the box. We were crying out for that.

“Players like Griffiths thrive on that and he buried the header. He was unlucky with the one that Ryan put a great ball in for. We kept coming, we got Brown on and when you throw Rogic, Christie and McGregor into the mix with two hungry strikers, we got what we deserved in the end and I’m thrilled with that.

“Patryk’s reaction was fantastic and I’m delighted for him. All his hard work is paying off and it was another massive contribution from him, I’m really pleased with him. The appetite of the team to go and win the game was great and we got great three points here with another clean sheet.”

Celtic go into the international break having won eight of their last eight games, and will face Rangers, AC Milan and Aberdeen in their first three games back. Neil Lennon credited his players for the run of results and said he was looking forward to the upcoming challenges.

“We’ve got some cracking games to look forward to when we come back from the international break,” he said. “Through this block of games from the last international, it’s been seven out seven. The only blot on the copybook has been Ferencvaros and it’s been a great response from the players.”

Neil Lennon hails Celtic's appetite to win after victory in Perth