Jonny Hayes delighted for Scott Brown and Neil Lennon

Add as preferred source on Google

Jonny Hayes has piled the praise on his captain Scott Brown and award winning manager Neil Lennon after the pair got the better of Rangers on Sunday.

Both Brown and Lennon went into the Ibrox clash with a lot of pressure on their shoulders. The pair have come in for criticism from vast swathes of the Hoops support and beyond in recent weeks, but they answered the call against Steven Gerrard’s men.

Lennon has since won the Premiership Manager of the Month award for August after a 100% league winning record.

And Hayes, who netted the clincher in Govan, says the derby victory was well deserved for both.

“I’m delighted because Broony proved that he’s still the best midfielder in Scotland by a country mile,” Hayes told the official Celtic website.

“He was superb. And I’m delighted for the manager as well.

“It was never going to be easy taking over from Brendan Rodgers, given the amount of trophies he won.

“But the gaffer’s come in, we’re now in the group stages of the Europa League, we’ve won four games out of four in the league and we’re playing good, attacking football.”

Hayes is right to praise Brown and Lennon

While Callum McGregor may have something to say to Hayes about his “best midfielder” comment, the Irishman is spot on in the main.

Brown and Lennon, without doubt Celtic’s two most influential men, stepped up to the mark big time on Sunday. Both had big questions hanging over their heads, and still do to a certain extent, but can rest easy for now knowing they’re back on side with the supporters.

Hopefully Sunday can act as a real turning point for this current side. It seems bizarre to say that given the start they’ve made to the new season. Lennon’s men have won 11 of their 13 competitive matches so far, with only Cluj avoiding defeat. They’ve also netted a remarkable 41 goals and conceded 12.

Yet there was still an undeniable apathy around the club. It stemmed from the original appointment of Lennon and the subsequent lack of transfer activity, and only got worse when Cluj dumped us out of the Champions League.

Now, for the first time, there’s an excitement building around Celtic Park. We’ve secured European group stage football again, are top of the league and into the last eight of the Betfred Cup.

It’s still good to be a Celtic fan.