Celtic moved three points clear in the Premiership to put the onus on rivals Rangers – and gaffer Neil Lennon says he's relishing the Old Firm title race.
The champions did their job with a convincing 4-0 victory over Livingston at Parkhead which gave them daylight at the top.
Lennon admits he'll enjoy 24 hours at the summit before seeing how Gers get on at Hamilton this afternoon.
But with both clubs neck-and-neck, the Celtic boss knows his side face a real challenge to make it 9-in-a-row.
He said: “Does it feel like a proper title race? At the minute, no question, yes.
“Psychologically, that's a good win for us. We can enjoy our Sunday, we get 24 hours before seeing what Rangers' result brings before we move on to the next one.
“We'll put this one to bed and it was a tough game under the circumstances.
“But we dealt with it brilliantly. You've got to either relish this pressure or fear it.
“So let's relish it. It's great. Maybe it's something new for some of the players but they're taking on the challenge – and I think the fans are enjoying it too.
“There will be anxious moments as we go along, with dips and troughs. But we're in a strong position and playing brilliantly.”
Lennon praised his side's attitude as they got revenge on Livi for beating them at Almondvale in October.
A James Forrest double and strikes from skipper Scott Brown and Odsonne Edouard sealed the win and afterwards, the manager said: “We were very powerful. Not just because of our fitness levels and the way we battled for second balls – but our football was superb.
“It was a comprehensive win against a tough team to beat.
“We were outstanding and when you come back from two weeks off you always worry that momentum will be lost.
“But there was no sign of that at all. There were excellent individual performances but I could name all of them, really.
“There wasn't one weakness out there and I'm thrilled with that.
“Their attitude is first class, in terms of how we approached it. These games can bite you but our professionalism and intent was terrific.
“We asked them to pile on the pressure in the second half with more goals.
“I thought they'd declared at three but then got another one. They're giving me everything, including another clean sheet.
“It's a great start to this block of games coming up.”
Lennon was able to give Leigh Griffiths minutes from the bench as he replaced Edouard in the second half.
And he's urged the striker to stay fresh and fit so he can make a contribution to their title tilt.
He said: “You can see how popular Leigh is with the fans. He's still got a bit to do but he was sniffing out chances and his work rate was good.
“It's a timely comeback from him with the volume of games we've got.
"We just want him to stay fit and at that level because there's plenty more to come from him.”
