Almondvale hasn’t been a happy hunting ground of late for the Hoops, and that made the scoreline, and the performance, all the more important for the manager.

He said: “We know it’s a difficult place to come to and we know our history here, so winning is obviously important, but I think the manner in which we played the game was brilliant.

‘It was a great reaction by the players to make sure that we made a statement here in terms of, not just winning the game, but by playing our football and showing that we can overcome whatever challenge is in front of us.’

“That was the key for us, we didn’t want to shy away from playing our football just because the pitch is a bit different or the opposition play a certain way.

“We were really keen on playing football in their half, dominating the game and I thought our defensive work was outstanding, we didn’t give them a moment’s peace.

“You see that they are a real threat from set pieces, so we kept them away from our box apart from throw-ins and free-kicks which helped us enormously in combatting their threat.”

And a half-time pep-talk contributed to the Celts getting off to a flier in the second half by netting almost immediately after the restart.

The manager said: “We spoke at half-time about how we had a really strong first half, so let’s get at them right from the beginning so that they see we’re not going to take our foot off the pedal, so it was great to see.

“I thought we really were good during that period, obviously they scored their goal from a throw-in, a set-piece that they’re obviously a threat from. But even aside from that, I thought we managed the game really well.”

All three goals were celebrated by three quarters of the stadium wrapped in green and white, and the manager was delighted to send them home happy.

He said: “You really have to pinch yourself to realise it’s not a home game. The noise they make and the way they get behind the team is outstanding.

“The last time we sent them down the road from here, we were in sixth spot, so I think they’ll enjoy this one better.”

Manager elated with his players’ display on the road in Livingston