Win at St Mirren was the biggest of our SPL run, insists Celtic boss Neil Lennon

RELIEVED Neil Lennon last night hailed Celtic’s 12th SPL win on the trot as their best yet – and claimed it could be crucial in the chase for the championship.

The leaders toiled in brutal conditions for 70 minutes and had keeper Fraser Forster to thank for keeping superior St Mirren at bay.

But late goals from James Forrest and Scott Brown sealed a massive victory before Rangers dropped four points behind with a draw against Aberdeen.

And boss Lennon insists the way his side dug deep outstripped any performance on a run which includes last month’s Old Firm triumph at Parkhead.

He said: “In terms of the run we’ve been on that’s our toughest game.

“Credit to St Mirren but I’m thrilled with the win and clean sheet.

“It’s a big win – huge in the context of the season. Were there times I thought it wouldn’t come? Of course.

“We didn’t make the most of the wind advantage in the first half and we were huffing and puffing a bit.

“But the players have a lot of pride in this run and want to maintain it.

“They showed great character. You’re not always going to play scintillating football, there are times when you have to show resolve and they did that.”

Lennon also piled praise on keeper Forster for a clean sheet he will struggle to match all season.

The Parkhead boss said: “Fraser was tremendous and made some great saves. Away from home you need your keeper to do that sometimes.

“Peter Schmeichel did it for years, Joe Hart does it, Allan McGregor does it time after time for Rangers and we feel we have a good one here too.

“Fraser has a big presence and excellent temperament. He has been a huge player this season.”

The Celtic gaffer insisted captain Brown proved his worth as well and took a side-swipe at the doubters who don’t rate him as Celtic class.

He said: “I challenged Scott before the game to get a goal and I wanted a big performance as well – I got both.

“Scott was sensational. His reading of the game was good, he broke up play and drove the game. To cap it off with a beautiful goal speaks volumes for him.

“Some people wonder why I put him in the team – it was there for all to see.”

The only down side for Lennon was the early yellow card ref Crawford Allan dished out to Thomas Rogne for a challenge on Jeroen Tesselaar.

The young Norwegian stopper then suffered again late on when he had a goal ruled out for offside.

Lennon said: “I wasn’t happy with the ref booking Rogne so early in the game.

“I didn’t think it was a yellow card but I thought the ref was maybe setting his stall out and there were going to be a few cards dished out. That didn’t happen though so I was pretty unhappy.

“From what I gather Rogne also wasn’t offside for the goal he scored at the end. I didn’t think the linesman on that side had the greatest of games either.”