Neil Lennon was as thrilled as any Celtic fan as he watched his side take Hearts apart.
The third force had been talked up before the match following their win over Rangers but were cut down to size by the league leaders.
For 90 minutes Celtic attacked in droves, played as a team and restrained their fury at another card happy performance from a referee way out his depth- Euan Norris.
Just like Stephen Finnie in the win over Motherwell a month ago Norris showed no real appreciation of the game other than to irritate and annoy with four Celtic players picking up unwarranted yellow cards.
From the moment James Forrest found the net in the 7th minute to Emilio Izaguirre hitting the bye-line in injury time it was a masterclass from Lennon’s side.
Two goal Anthony Stokes was the official man-of-the-match but good cases could be made for Charlie Mulgrew, Izaguirre, Biram Kayal and Gary Hooper.
After a troublesome and testing December Lennon is starting to see some rewards in January as he acknowledged after the match.
“It’s been coming,” the Celtic boss said. “The level of play in recent weeks has been good, we just haven’t been putting teams away.
“It came together tonight and it was as good a performance as we’ve had at home all season against a very confident team.
“I thought we were absolutely brilliant from start to finish. There were some great individual performances but as a collective they were excellent.
“There was a real intensity to their play and the pleasing thing was we picked up where we left off in the first half and never gave Hearts a minute.
“There was a real hunger. It was a big game for us and they did everything we asked of them and it could have been even more.
“We looked a good team out there tonight and the players have set themselves a benchmark.”
Pick your man-of-the-match:
Forster: Was well protected by an able and confident defence
Wilson: Getting closer to the player signed from Dundee United, his defending balances Izaguirre’s attacking instincts on the other flank
Izaguirre: Another first class all action display. Always eager to push forward, no slouch at the back and dogged in the tackle
Mulgrew: Perhaps by circumstances we have discovered a quality centre half. Happy to clear his lines or deliver a telling pass out of defence
Rogne: Playing like a young veteran! Great composure and awareness, primarily defensive and growing in stature game by game
Brown: Right midfield looks his best position, played a big part in the first and fourth goals, kept Lee Wallace away from attacking Mark Wilson
Kayal: An instant fans favourite. Quite reserved and disciplined tonight but loves a 50-50 where he has a 100% record
Ledley: Restored to the team and the perfect foil for Brown and Kayal, looked at ease in a more conventional midfield four
McCourt: Putting in more effective team performances, no longer the sole creator in the team. Worked hard and doesn’t need a second invite anywhere near goal
Stokes: Showed great confidence to take free-kick- never doubted for a minute what he was going to do, poached the third goal from Hooper
Hooper: Almost back to his best after ankle injury, constant threat to defenders while doing more work outside of the penalty box.
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