Neil Lennon said Celtic were ready to build on the performances they displayed towards the end of the year as the Hoops returned from Dubai eager to return to winning ways.

Celtic will face Hibernian tomorrow night (January 11) at Celtic Park in their first game since returning from their annual mid-season training camp in the United Arab Emirates, and manager Neil Lennon is confident his side will put on a strong performance.

The Scottish champions were on an impressive six-game winning streak before suffering a 1-0 defeat in the Glasgow Derby nine days ago.

Neil Lennon highlighted the impressive performance from his side in the game and was confident Celtic would go from strength-to-strength in the remaining games of the campaign.

“We’ve been playing well recently,” he said. “We didn’t get what we deserved last Saturday and that’s football sometimes. I thought we dominated the game for long periods away from home in a derby and in a game of that magnitude, it speaks volumes of our performance.

“We were bitterly disappointed not to have won the game but we need to set that aside and get as many points and as many wins as we can.

'I was very happy with the level of performance and quality. If we maintain that standard and get better as we go on, we’ll have a very good second half of the season.'

“It’s about playing well and winning games. We were doing that up until last weekend so we’ll get back on a run now. We’re capable of doing that. Looking at the overall picture, we’re pretty pleased with the performances.”

Celtic have the opportunity to reduce the gap at the top by nine points if they can win their three games in hand. Neil Lennon admitted Celtic had to be on top form throughout the rest of the season to reduce the deficit further, and he was confident his players were more than up to the challenge.

“We’re looking forward to the games,” said the Celtic manager. “The players are as well. We have our targets and incentives. There’s a lot to play for still, we’re not giving up on the league by any stretch of the imagination, but we’re really going to have to be on it from here on in and they’re capable of doing it.”

Neil Lennon: Players are ready to hit the ground running and get back on winning streak