Celtic buoyant ahead of derby – Lennon

Neil Lennon says Celtic are the team on the ascendancy heading into tomorrow’s vital Old Firm showdown after they cut Rangers’ lead at the top of the Scottish Premier League to just one point.

A double from Georgios Samaras proved enough for Celtic to run out 2-1 winners against Kilmarnock – for whom substitute Danny Racchi struck a late consolation – as the Hoops took full advantage of nine-man Rangers’ 2-1 loss to St Mirren on Saturday.

The win was Celtic’s eighth in a row and they have been boosted by the news Rangers pair Lee McCulloch and Dorin Goian, both sent off against St Mirren, will miss tomorrow’s meeting between the Glasgow rivals at Parkhead.

And Celtic manager Lennon agreed that his side would be favourites as the Hoops host Ally McCoist’s men looking to leapfrog their rivals and start 2012 on top of the table.

“We’ve won eight in a row so the form is good going into the game,” Lennon said.

“But we will have to play well and we will have to play strongly and play to the occasion as best we can.

“Regardless of who we were going to face on Wednesday (tomorrow) it’s the next most important game, as the next game after that will be.

“We just want to continue our winning form and if it means having to beat Rangers then so be it.”

The last time the Hoops faced Kilmarnock questions were raised about Lennon’s future as manager after a 3-3 draw allowed Rangers to open up a 12-point lead at the top of the table.

However, a slump in form from the Gers has coincided with an upturn in fortunes for Lennon’s side and the Northern Irishman said his players had shown a strong mentality during their recent run.

“It is a reward for the players. They have shown some great character under a lot of pressure and have played some superb football in that period of time,” he said.

Rangers upset

Rangers slumped to a 2-1 defeat in Paisley despite taking an 11th-minute lead through Lee Wallace. McCulloch saw red for an elbow on Graham Carey before goals from Aaron Mooy and Paul McGowan gave St Mirren the lead before the break.

Rangers dominated possession in the second half as they looked for an elusive equaliser but things got worse for the Ibrox outfit when Goian saw red for two bookable offences.

McCoist said that there is a “distinct possibility” that Rangers will look into appealing McCulloch’s “extremely harsh” red, and added that his team will be ready for tomorrow’s trip across Glasgow.

“It was never going to be anything other than hard in the derby,” he insisted. “We always knew it would be tough. All we can do now is dust ourselves down and we will do.”