NEIL Lennon last night welcomed the SFA’s decision not to cite Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths for an alleged stamp on Sam Woods of Hamilton on Sunday.

A panel of former Category 1 referees failed to reach a consensus of opinion that it was a red card offence and the player will not issued with a fast track notice of complaint.

Parkhead manager Lennon expressed his satisfaction that common sense had prevailed and defended the disciplinary record of his side this season.

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However, the Northern Irishman has urged Griffiths, who was booked for a shove on Alex Gogic, to concentrate on scoring goals in future.

“From the angle I saw there was no deliberate act at all,” he said. “You know sometimes when these things are slowed down they look worse than they are.

“When he’s trying to get up there’s no malice there to actually stamp on the player. But his reaction in raising his hands and pushing someone on the chest, I didn’t like that.

“I thought he was innocent. But his reaction afterwards, he needs to curb, because that could potentially put him in hot water. I don’t want that. I’m big on discipline.

“I don’t want players in rammies and stuff like that. Walk away, and let the referee deal with it. Which he did, he got the yellow card for it, and was warned at half time ‘behave yourself, keep your cool and play your football’. And he got better as the game went on. He’s better letting his football do his talking for him.

Glasgow Times:

“All you are looking for is common sense. There have been instances over the years when you’ve gone ‘wow, how can he get a ban for that?’

"And that’s what frustrates managers more than anything else. There is an inconsistency there. Surely they (the former referees) get together and talk about it, and common sense prevails.”

A report published by the CIES Football Observatory last month showed that Celtic are among the top 10 cleanest sides in Europe and committed just 9.5 fouls per game in the first half of the 2019/20 campaign.

“I think we are well disciplined,” said Lennon. “We are big on team discipline. I’ve been taught that by other managers as well.

“Sometimes I think these things can get blown out of proportion. We do pride ourselves on self discipline and team discipline. It’s was something Martin was massive on. You could say I got more than a few tellings off!”

Glasgow Times:

Meanwhile, Lennon has warned his players, who moved seven points clear of nearest challengers Rangers in the Ladbrokes Premiership table with their 4-1 win over Hamilton on Sunday, not to take their lead for granted.

"I wouldn’t call it breathing space," he said. "We’re just trying to forge ahead and see what the other results bring. We’ve got a bit of momentum, and we want to maintain that and be consistent with our results.

"I think that’s the way it should be. We can’t take anything for granted. You would assume that the opposition would win their game in hand, but you never know. What we’re after is points total - just keep going, keep playing well if we can, and if you can’t try and grind out results."