Neil Lennon reveals he had to give Celtic slackers half-time rocket to eventually soar past Ross County

A debut goal from Shane Duffy helped Celtic to rack up a 5-0 win over Stuart Kettlewell's men, but the first hour of the match was far from the stroll the scoreline suggests.

And despite being two goals to the good at the break, Lennon admits he had to crack down on sloppiness within the ranks to ensure they saw the win through.

“I had to have a word with the players at half time," Lennon said.

“We were just too passive for my liking and a little bit slow tempo with the ball and that’s not the way we want to play. Second half was a lot better. We closed the distances a lot better.

“Overall I’m thrilled. We will get better. I think we can play better and we will as we go along.

“I think this was another sign of how we’re progressing.

“It wasn’t a new formation for us as such [playing 3-5-2], but it’s new personnel and sometimes that can take a bit of time. Today it took us 45 minutes to get to grips with it.

“But in the second half we looked far more like ourselves and I got excited the way we played.

“Credit County, they came and pressed us and made a real game of it.

“But we showed real quality and power in the second half and to score five away from home is a great achievement.

“I’m absolutely delighted with that."

Lennon was also pleased with the contribution of Duffy on his first Celtic appearance, and he feels the best is to come from the Irishman.

“Shane had the two games for Ireland which will have done him the world of good," he said.

"He hadn’t played that much football. Same with (Albian) Ajeti. He needed a run out and today he;s produced a great striker’s goal.

“Shane, we all know what the club means to him, to score on his debut was just great. I think after the goal he just looked peerless, just outstanding. That will give him a lot of confidence.

“He’s getting used to us, our style of play and we’re getting used to him.

“But it’s been a good day’s work for him."