Celtic manager Gordon Strachan hailed his players for slashing the gap at the top of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League to a single point but admitted plenty of hard work lies ahead if they are to retain their crown.
Goals from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Scott McDonald and Andreas Hinkel secured a crucial 3-0 win over Hearts at Celtic Park to keep the pressure on leaders Rangers ahead of their trip to Kilmarnock tomorrow.
A win at Rugby Park would allow Rangers to restore their four-point advantage but Strachan was satisfied with the efforts of his team against a rejuvenated Hearts side.
"It makes us feel all right about ourselves today," he said.
"If you don't close it, then you don't feel great about yourself. But we should take pride in our performance.
"Rangers are still in the lead and playing very well and very consistently. We appreciate the hard work ahead but we can only do our own job."
A frantic 90 minutes was peppered with flashpoints. Goalkeeper Artur Boruc clashed with Stephen McManus early in the second half, while an angry exchange took place between Scott Brown and Hearts caretaker manager Stephen Frail.
Lee Naylor also appeared to have words with Strachan but the Celtic boss had no complaints about his side's performance against a team who had won their last three league matches.
"It was terrific," he enthused.
"You are playing a team who have found good form recently and, even when they played against Rangers, I thought they did very well.
"They haven't conceded any goals in the league in their last few games.
"We knew it would be a big day - and I think the crowd knew it was going to be a big day as well - and the players responded fantastically.
"It was as good a start as we have had this year - it was a terrific start against a really good side."
The win also sets up Celtic nicely for the visit of Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Strachan said: "They all seem to be 100% fit, so we are pleased with that. They weren't keeping anything back with the way they were running, the way they were chasing, and I like to see that."
Frail is determined to ensure that the disappointment against Celtic does not act as a setback after the progress he has made with the Edinburgh club in recent weeks.
He said: "I'll make sure the heads don't go down because we have a lot of big games coming up.
"If we continue to show the improvement and commitment we have done in recent weeks, then hopefully we can push into the top six and take it from there."
A win at Rugby Park would allow Rangers to restore their four-point advantage but Strachan was satisfied with the efforts of his team against a rejuvenated Hearts side.
"It makes us feel all right about ourselves today," he said.
"If you don't close it, then you don't feel great about yourself. But we should take pride in our performance.
"Rangers are still in the lead and playing very well and very consistently. We appreciate the hard work ahead but we can only do our own job."
A frantic 90 minutes was peppered with flashpoints. Goalkeeper Artur Boruc clashed with Stephen McManus early in the second half, while an angry exchange took place between Scott Brown and Hearts caretaker manager Stephen Frail.
Lee Naylor also appeared to have words with Strachan but the Celtic boss had no complaints about his side's performance against a team who had won their last three league matches.
"It was terrific," he enthused.
"You are playing a team who have found good form recently and, even when they played against Rangers, I thought they did very well.
"They haven't conceded any goals in the league in their last few games.
"We knew it would be a big day - and I think the crowd knew it was going to be a big day as well - and the players responded fantastically.
"It was as good a start as we have had this year - it was a terrific start against a really good side."
The win also sets up Celtic nicely for the visit of Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Strachan said: "They all seem to be 100% fit, so we are pleased with that. They weren't keeping anything back with the way they were running, the way they were chasing, and I like to see that."
Frail is determined to ensure that the disappointment against Celtic does not act as a setback after the progress he has made with the Edinburgh club in recent weeks.
He said: "I'll make sure the heads don't go down because we have a lot of big games coming up.
"If we continue to show the improvement and commitment we have done in recent weeks, then hopefully we can push into the top six and take it from there."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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