more class from the reserves

Mark Henderson
NEIL LENNON has hailed his Celtic reserve side for putting on their best display of the season after they triumphed 4-1 over Queen of the South’s first-team on Saturday.

Goals from Niall McGinn, Paul McGowan, Paul Slane and Greig Spence gave the Hoops a comfortable victory over the experienced First Division outfit, maintaining their 100 per cent record in 2010, and Lennon was certainly impressed by what he witnessed at Palmerston Park.

The Celtic coach said: “It was the best performance of the season. They were fantastic. I was really apprehensive about going into the game as it was going to be a really tough match in front of a crowd.

“Queens are going well in Division One and had some tough, seasoned professionals, but we played brilliantly.”

The youngsters have now beaten Queens, Blackburn Rovers, Drogheda United and Hamilton Accies since the start of the New Year and Lennon was pleased to see his charges develop a winning habit.

He said: “We are looking for that mentality. I want the group to grow together and, hopefully, in two or three years’ time, I want them to have a winning mentality.

“I also want them to have an understanding of each other and what the club is about, so that when they pull that shirt on, it means everything to them.

“I can see bits and pieces of that as they are going along. I try not to get carried away, but they have got to the stage now where they look like a good team. They are good footballers and want to do things the right way.”

The Hoops left their opponents stunned after going 3-0 up after just 35 minutes and Lennon was delighted at how the side were putting the work on the training ground into practice.

He also singled out Paul McGowan and James Forrest for particular praise and said: “I think scoring early settled the players. We had started the game pretty well, but there was not much to show until we got the first goal.

“After that we got into a rhythm and a lot of things we had been working on for a long time seemed to fall into place.

“We had a pretty young team apart from Niall McGinn, who is really the only regular first-team member, although Forrest and McGowan have featured quite a bit in the top squad this season, which is really pleasing.

“They both played really well and were exceptional at times, particularly in the first half.”

The young Hoops will now be looking to continue their impressive form with two games over the next two weeks.

Kilmarnock will be the opponents in a closed-doors bounce game, before the Hoops head to Dublin on February 23, to take on Shamrock Rovers as part of the Irish side’s pre-season preparations.

According to Lennon, these types of games are all part of a long-term goal of developing the younger players for first-team football

He said: “We have taken all types of games on. We have been down south and played non-league teams, Championship and Premier League teams.

“We have also been across to Ireland - so the boys will have played in stadiums they have probably never played at before.  

“They have also travelled together long-distances now and all that adds to the experience of trying to get that into that first-team mentality.

“We try and take these games on with that aim, and the training and preparation is all geared towards that as well. And, during this year, we have seen a big change in their mindset.”

CELTIC (4-4-2): Cervi, McGinn, Kurakins, Tolmie, Lafferty; Forrest, Vallers, Towell, Keatings, McGowan, Slane.
Subs, Grant, Fairley, Spence, Gallagher