LENNON PLEASED WITH RESULT

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has said that he is extremely pleased with the way his club managed to grind out a result against St Mirren in the latest round of the Scottish Premier league fixtures.

Celtic had the ability to stay top of the Scottish Premier league table with a win over St Mirren. The 2-0 win might sound flattering on Celtic, but it was a hard-fought victory for Neil Lennon and his men. After the match, the Celtic manager said that it is these kind of victories that will ultimately win you the title. As a result of this win, Celtic currently maintain their four-point advantage over Rangers.

The win for Celtic was even better because of the fact that Rangers could only draw against Aberdeen in their future. As a result, the four-point advantage over Rangers will provide Celtic with a substantial cushion as they head into the European round of fixtures for both clubs. Rangers have been having a stranglehold on the Scottish Premier league title in recent seasons, but this weekend would have provided Celtic with enough confidence that they can finally bring back the title from Ibrox this season. Ultimately, it was the strength in depth that helped Celtic win the match against St Mirren, as opposed to the draw Rangers suffered at the hands of Aberdeen.

“I think the players have a lot of pride in this run and want to maintain it for as long as they can. They showed great character. You aren’t always going to play scintillating football, there are times when you have to show character and resolve and they did that,” Celtic boss Neil Lennon said after the match. Both teams have played 24 games each, while Celtic have a slightly better goal difference than Rangers.

CELTIC CHASE HALLICHE

Scottish Premier League giants Glasgow Celtic look all set to sign Algerian international defender Rafik Halliche in the winter transfer market in January after the 25 year old centre back impressed The Hoops boss Neil Lennon during his weeklong trial at Parkhead. Halliche is still contracted to English Premier League club Fulham from Portuguese giants Benfica in 2010, which he joined after impressing with his performances against England and the United States of America during last summer’s FIFA World Cup held in South Africa.

However, The Hoops must be aware that the FIFA denied his international clearance to play for Swansea City, with whom he had signed before the start of the 2011 English Premier League campaign and that could be the only worry for The Bhoys in their search for a new defender after being seriously shorthanded with injuries to the first team players. According to Glasgow Celtic manager Neil Lennon has said in a recent press conference that he was very pleased with the trialist from Algeria and also stated that he hopes to sign the defender to strengthen the team in the January transfer window and all that needs to be sorted out is the price for the player with Fulham, his parent club.

The Green and Whites are not in the best of states in the Scottish Premier League where they still trail bitter rivals Glasgow Rangers by quite a points’ margin and the main reason for this has been attributed to the lack of solidity in defense for The Bhoys who have not been able to field all their first choice defenders at any point in the season. Whether Rafik Halliche can help Glasgow Celtic turn their season around and bring them the SPL title is another story altogether, provided his transfer from Fulham goes as smoothly as planned.