“From the first whistle we looked to impose our style in the game. We maybe rushed it a bit in the first half. We got into good positions but maybe just tried to play the last pass a little bit too early, so we mentioned that at half-time.

'In the second-half we stepped it up again. We had great backing from the supporters who kept pulling the team towards the ball, and eventually we made the breakthrough.'

The manager had spoken before the game of the importance the substitutes would make over the course of the 90 minutes at Dens Park, and so it proved as Mikey Johnston came on in the 79th minute for Luis Palma and proceeded to score two goals, adding to Bernardo’s first Celtic strike.

“Paulo’s actually played a lot for us in the bigger games, which is obviously difficult at Champions League level, and maybe not started as much domestically,” said the manager.

“But for him to get his goal, that’ll do a lot for his confidence. I’m really pleased for him and it was a really good performance from Paulo.

“The impact of the substitutes is important, and especially in this period when there are so many games. I said it before and for the guys to make sure they’re ready, and I think all the guys who came in made a contribution and kept the energy and intensity in the game.

'That’s what pleased me the most. We have to go and impose our style and be really proactive, and when we do that, we can be a good team.'

“Today we did that, and against a Dundee team that make it difficult and I’ve seen it over the season they’ve had some really good results, but I thought we were really creative, it was all based around the tempo and speed of the game and that’s what allowed us to make the breakthrough.

“It was two good performances, and a better performance today than at the weekend. There was real good attitude and energy in the game, and now we can recover, and obviously Celtic-Rangers games are huge games but exciting games.”

Manager: I'm delighted with our energy and attitude in Dens Park win