Kenny Miller, James McArthur and Kris Commons were all on target as the Scots eased to a 3-0 win at Dublin's Aviva Stadium that could easily have been more emphatic.

Levein spoke before the match about how impressed he has been with his inexperienced players and he thought they proved him right with a slick performance.

Levein said: "We played very well.

"I have been talking constantly about players at their clubs playing a very high standard and how much improvement there has been in a lot of players in the last year.

"But it is one thing me talking about it. It is important the players take that onto the pitch and prove I am not talking a lot of rubbish."

Levein felt his team gelled well on the field and was impressed more with the workrate of all the players than any individual performance.

He added: "The fact we played as a team was the most pleasing thing.

"Every player on the pitch worked their socks off to help each other.

"That for me is invaluable. We can have good individual performances - people scoring goals, keepers making saves - but the actual willingness to do the hard work, the work without the ball, was the most pleasing part of the game.

"I have been watching them play week in, week out for their clubs and tonight was about producing a performance that was reminiscent of a good club performance.

"To that end I got everything I wished for."

McArthur, who has made little impact at Wigan since leaving Hamilton last summer, caught the eye after being named in the side as a late replacement for Celtic's Scott Brown.

The timing of the match has been criticised by Celtic manager Neil Lennon and Levein did not want to risk Brown aggravating an injury.

Levein said: "Perhaps the person who had the hardest job was James McArthur, who had to deputise for Scott Brown, whose groin was a bit tight.

"We knew that this morning but we decided to wait until pre-match to see if he was capable of playing.

"I didn't want to take the chance. He is an important player for Celtic and I didn't want to put him in a position where he would be injured going back to his club.

"I did also try to look at how many games people have played recently and tried to rest as many as I could, while giving one or two a chance to play.

"I want to keep relationships with clubs as good as possible."

Levein did reveal however he felt that McArthur's goal was a bit fortuitous, as what appeared to be a cross drifted into the net.

"You have either got that type of vision or you haven't!" he said, with a big smile.