Neil Lennon praised the leadership qualities of Christopher Jullien as he sweats on the fitness of skipper Scott Brown.
And the Celtic boss also salivated over the jaw-dropping talents of Odsonne Edouard with the striker now onto the 25-goal mark for the campaign.
Jullien and Edouard were outstanding contributors as the Hoops took a step towards the last 16 of the Europa League with a fighting draw against Copenhagen.
The attacker bagged the crucial away goal in the Parken Stadium, while the defender was rock solid as Lennon’s men put themselves in pole position to progress to the next stage of the competition.
The manager saluted his French flyers and said: “I thought he [Jullien] was immense in Copenhagen. He had a great game and headed everything he possibly could. His attitude and his will to win was a real show of character away from home and I think he’s been superb.
“He’s got leadership qualities and has that presence as well.
“It was a brilliant move for his [Edouard] goal and it was a lovely finish.
I thought he might have done that with his first chance, too, and dinked it.
“That’s his 25th goal of the season and he’s a special player.
“You can’t compare him to Henrik [Larsson]. You can’t compare him to anybody. He’s his own individual. A real quality striker and I love working with him. There are things he does that makes your jaw drop. At times, he does things that are totally unexpected things and it may prove to be a really important goal in Denmark.
“He doesn’t get disappointed if he misses. He waits for the next one and puts it away and I think his finishing has got a lot better over the past couple of years.”
Brown’s injury in Copenhagen was a setback with the captain limping out of the contest in the second period with a calf strain.
The midfielder is being assessed over the damage and his manager said: “He felt something in his calf when he stretched.
“It’s not like him to come off. He will be assessed and then we’ll know more. We don’t want any more injuries to key players. I don’t know. I’ll have to wait and see. We’ll get a good look at them on Saturday.”
Lennon’s troops go back into domestic action on Sunday with a home clash against Kilmarnock.
The champions are aiming to maintain their 10-point lead at the summit by sinking Alex Dyer’s troops and the gaffer said: “It’s against difficult opponents who probably had a bitterly disappointing night in midweek but Alex has them playing pretty well.
“They scored goals in midweek and they obviously beat Rangers. They are tough opposition and we will have to be very wary of them.”
