NEIL Lennon was delighted with his players’ reaction after Celtic fought back from a goal down in Paisley to defeat St Mirren 2-1.

Celtic took all three points from their game in hand thanks to goals from Shane Duffy and James Forrest.

St Mirren initially took the lead after Lee Erwin put the home side in front from a corner minutes after kick-off. Duffy followed up on his debut goal from the weekend to head in an equaliser for Celtic in the 21st minute.

Forrest then gave Celtic the lead they thoroughly deserved towards the end of the first half when he bulleted in Ryan Christie’s cross.

Neil Lennon was pleased with how his side dealt with going a goal down and added the scoreline did not necessarily reflect Celtic’s dominance against a spirited Saints team.

“I thought the performance was good,” said Neil Lennon in an exclusive interview with Celtic TV. “The attitude of the players was spot on. Our shape and intensity to get the ball back was good. Defensively, we were very strong, albeit we conceded from a set-play which is very unlike us. But the reaction to that was fantastic and we thoroughly deserved to be in front by half-time.

“We dominated the second half without getting the just rewards with more goals. It was a very good performance. People might look at the scoreline and think we didn’t play well but you have to give St Mirren credit. Their goalkeeper played very well and they defended heroically at times. That’s what we’re up against sometimes. We have to break that down and we did that tonight.”

The Celtic manager said Celtic were still working towards their peak form but added he was pleased with the progress they have been making.

“We’ve still to hit our peak form but we’re winning games and winning them well,” he said. “The scoreline flatters St Mirren because we had total dominance of the game

“They’re all important games coming up. We know we can be top of the league by the end of play on Saturday and that’s our incentive going into Saturday.”

Manager praises Celtic attitude as Hoops fight back to defeat Saints