Neil Lennon has praised David Turnbull as the fringe star sparked Celtic into life against Lille.
The Hoops won 3-2 against the French side in their final Europa League group stage game.
Goals from Christopher Jullien, Callum McGregor and Turnbull were enough to see off the visitors.
And the Celtic boss was over the moon for matchwinner Turnbull as he sealed the victory for the Hoops.
He said: "David was excellent. He’s had the coronavirus which laid him up for quite a while so it was just a question of being careful with him and obviously get him some game time.
“He did really well when he came on on Sunday and I thought he had an exceptionally good game tonight
“Not just his goal bit his all round play was very good. We know what a good talented player he is.
“Hopefully now we’ll see the best of him going forward.
“It was a great win and a nice way to finish off what’s been a disappointing group.
“But we’ve probably deserved a little bit better out of the group.
“It’s great to finish on a high against a very good side
“There was a lot of good energy out there, three goals at home and it was a really competitive game for its stage of the competition. We were well worth it.”
Lennon rotated his squad and gave the likes of Conor Hazard, Ismaila Soro and Patryk Klimala a start.
And he was delighted with how they all coped and hopes this performance can build some momentum for Celtic as they host Kilmarnock this Sunday.
He added: “We now need to try to get a win on Sunday – get the mentality right and keep the spirit going.
“I have a lot of belief in the players and there is a long way to go in the season.
“We have been off the boil but there is a good vibe around the place now.
“Sometimes players have a dip at the same time and people say, ‘They don’t care, look at their attitude’.
“I don’t see that with these guys. Training has been good and we got the result. Hopefully this will be a catalyst.
“There were a lot of bonuses – Ismaila Soro I thought was excellent, Turnbull, Patryk Klimala, Ewan Henderson had a fine game as well.
“It’s the first time Chris Jullien and Shane Duffy have played together and we’d Conor Hazard in goal. So there were a lot of pluses tonight.”
Callum McGregor gifted Lille a leveller but made amends as he fired Celtic back ahead from the penalty spot.
And Lennon was full of praise for his stand-in skipper for leading the Hoops to victory despite the setback.
Lennon said: “Callum McGregor is a modern day great. I’ve no issue with his character or his professionalism or anything. He puts himself out there every weekend is a real leader in the dressing room.
“I’m delighted for him to get the goal and I’m delighted for the team and the squad.
“The atmosphere has been good despite recent results and I think that’s given everyone a big lift."
Keeper Hazard didn’t put a foot wrong on his debut and the Celtic manager reckons the Northern Irishman passed with flying colours.
Lennon added: “Conor has been knocking at the door training wise for a long time.
“I spoke to him and said I wanted to give him a chance, and maybe Lille would be the one.
“There wasn’t a lot of pressure and I wanted to see how adjusted. He was excellent.
“He made a big save at 3-2 and showed good hands with a cross at the end.
“We are delighted with his progress and he’s knocking at the door.”
