Lenny faces up to a new challenge... keeping his stars on ball
Glasgow Evening Times
By the end of this week, Celtic's lead at the top of the SPL could be a staggering 23 points. Neil Lennon's side are in action twice before Rangers kick a ball in Inverness on Sunday afternoon and the Celtic manager knows one of the biggest challenges ...

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JOE Cardle has admitted that Dunfermline’s poor home form is becoming “ridiculous”. The Pars winger opened the scoring against Inverness at East End Park on Saturday, only for Nick Ross to claim a draw for the visitors.

Celtic's procession in Edinburgh only enhanced the party mood of their supporters. No group has taken as much pleasure from Rangers' demise as the Celtic following. Balloons, streamers and all manner of songs about their rivals' slump into administration marked this fixture.

Amid the debate about the value of Rangers to Scottish football the Ibrox club's oldest foes have made their position abundantly clear. Here the level of jubilation among the visiting fans regarding Rangers' scenario was quite a sight.

"I don't think the players take much notice of it," said Celtic's manager, Neil Lennon. "We just told them to focus on their work and concentrate on this game. They have done that, you could see there was a bit of extra snap in training this week. What has happened [at Rangers] has obviously been a bonus for us. It might have given the players a little lift."

Celtic's championship lead, boosted by Rangers' 10-point deduction, sits at 17. By the time Rangers play again, at Inverness on Sunday, they could trail Celtic by 23 points.

Hibs found themselves 4-0 down after 52 minutes. The only surprise thereafter was that Celtic scored only one more.

Anthony Stokes started the rout, with the kind of goal which highlights why Hibs are in such a perilous league position. Stokes headed home Charlie Mulgrew's corner from all of two yards.

Stokes's strike partner, Gary Hooper, doubled the lead with an angled finish. Again, the Hibs defending was too generous. Celtic should also have been awarded a penalty before the interval, when James McPake upended Stokes, but Mulgrew lashed home a free-kick a minute after it, to further endorse Celtic's superiority. Hooper's second of the afternoon – a bounce deceived the Hibs goalkeeper Graham Stack but he should still have done better – led to a mass exodus from the home support.

Celtic substitute Ki Sung-yueng notched the fifth after converting a Kris Commons cross. Only the crossbar denied Joe Ledley from claiming a sixth.

"Lost for words with this team at the minute, they are doing everything right," said Lennon. "I haven't seen complacency in this squad for a long, long time. The players know they have to maintain what they are doing if they want to stay in the confines of the squad."

Celtic may have another motivation: if they win each of their remaining 11 league matches, they can break the 100-point barrier. "We are just focusing on ourselves, we are at the top on merit and that's where we want to stay," said Stokes. There is no question that they will. When, not if, Celtic clinch the title is what is now up for debate.

Man of the match Anthony Stokes (Celtic)

• Hibernian
• Celtic
• Scottish Premier League 2011-12
• Scottish Premier League

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