Celtic midfielder Scott Brown praises Neil Lennon's decision to challenge him

Celtic midfielder Scott Brown has praised the impact his manager, Neil Lennon, had on his performance after the Northern Irishman challenged him to find the net against St Mirren.

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Lennon’s team recorded a 2-0 win at St Mirren, a match that was fairly comfortable in the end as James Forrest, and then Brown, put Celtic four points clear of Rangers who lie second with 55 points.

After the match, Lennon claimed he challenged Brown to score a goal and put in an impressive performance and Brown responded well to his manager's demands.

Speaking after the match, Brown said: "He should maybe do that [challenge me] every week.

Brown secured the win with a tidy curling finish from the edge of the penalty area, but the Scotland international has played down the technique involved, claiming he merely just meant to hit it towards the goal, before praising Saturday’s opponents.

He continued: "I don't know how it managed to go in to be fair.

"I meant to hit the target - I didn't know where though.

"It was a hard game and St Mirren made it difficult for us and conditions made it even worse.

"It was a great three points."

The Bhoys' goalkeeper, Fraser Forster, was also understandably happy with the three points and a clean sheet to top off the afternoon, but he reserved the bulk of his thanks for Forrest and his defence.

"It was important to keep the run going, we've had a great couple of months,” he told ESPN.

"We've got great quality in those areas. James has scored another cracker.

"We've got a solid and consistent back four and we just need to keep that going."

Forrest himself hailed his goal, insisting it was important as they were confident of getting the three points as long as they scored, and with the work of the defence, a clean sheet was always likely.

He said: "Once we got that goal we knew that we could keep a clean sheet.

"We knew it would be a hard game. The most important thing was to get three points today."