Neil Lennon singles out 'great' Celtic star for praise; bodes well for Ibrox

By John McGinley

December 27, 2020

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has singled out Odsonne Edouard for praise following yesterday’s 3-0 win over Hamilton Academical.

Edouard found himself on the scoresheet from the penalty spot against Accies, but also contributed a classy assist for the team’s second of the afternoon, as well as having a big part in the third.

It was about as impressive as the Frenchman has looked all season, perhaps since the opening day clash against Hamilton in the prior meeting between the two sides.

Lennon was delighted with what he witnessed, telling The Scottish Sun: “I thought Odsonne looked great, the best he’s looked for a while.

“He looked free and his quality was there for everyone to see. The whole team functioned well, I couldn’t fault any of them.

“Their application and quality was great. We could have won the game by a lot more.

“It’s the quality of chances we’re creating now, which we weren’t doing previously. We’re looking a lot more like ourselves.”

Bodes well for Celtic Ibrox trip

Edouard has had a difficult season. The French U21 star hasn’t scored in open play in the Scottish Premiership since August.

A Covid-19 diagnosis proved to be a terrible setback for him, but more than that Celtic haven’t ably supported him in the final third until the last few matches.

It’s not as if his individual effort has been magnificent either.

If he is truly peaking right now, then it’s a fantastic boost for Celtic ahead of next week’s derby against Rangers.

We really need players like Edouard at their best if we’re to pick up the three points we need at Ibrox.

Odsonne Edouard scores for Celtic at Hamilton / (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)

The 22-year-old has a fantastic record against the league leaders, scoring six goals in nine derby appearances, with two assists (Transfermarkt).

Despite the form of Steven Gerrard’s side, Edouard is a player who can still strike fear into their defence.

Fingers crossed.

In other news, Neil Lennon has insisted Celtic can win at Ibrox next week.