With two weeks to go until the Glasgow derby Neil Lennon applied the first psychological blow.
While Steven Gerrard suffered through a 1-1 draw at Ibrox against Kilmarnock the Irishman was rediscovering his youth as he celebrated a late late winner against Dundee delivered by Odsonne Edouard.
Lennon celebrated the goal as much as any Celtic fan, it was more than a late winner against Dundee- it was the first statement towards the derby encounter.
Two international fixtures in Kazakhstan and San Marino will barely be a side show as the clock ticks towards a fixture that could see Celtic go 13 points clear at the top of the table.
“It’s significant, we are not taking anything for granted but it’s significant,” Lennon told The Sun. “Psychologically it’s huge. Is there a bit less pressure going into the Rangers game? Yes. I think so. It means we don’t have to win it.
“Ideally we would love to win it and get over the line as quickly as possible but all the onus is on the other teams around us.
“The gap between first and second now is bigger than second and third – and that’s significant for us.”
Everything in the build up to the derby clash will centre on the prospect of Celtic going 13 points clear with seven matches to go- a fact that will hang over the Ibrox side in the build up to the match.
The celebrations among Gerrard’s players after winning in December were long, loud and very visible to their Celtic counterparts but since then only one set of players has shown that they have the nerve for a a title ‘race’.
Hail Glorious Saint Patrickhttps://t.co/4avdnSCidG
— Joe McHugh (@videocelts) March 17, 2019
