St Mirren boss proud of players despite loss
St Mirren manager Danny Lennon has said that he was proud of his players after they were beaten by Scottish Premier League giants Celtic on Sunday 14 November.
The Saints had looked set to win a crucial point against Celtic at St Mirren Park, but Gary Hooper netted his eighth league goal of the season from a Paddy McCourt cross in the third minute of injury time, allowing the Hoops to leave with all three points in
the bag.
As a result, St Mirren remain in ninth place, tied on 11 points with St Johnstone and just two points above last-placed Hamilton Academical.
Lennon had set out his side to contain and frustrate a star-studded Celtic side, which had two in-form strikers in Hooper and Anthony Stokes in the starting line-up.
The tactics had worked well in the first half and almost paid off perfectly when Saints striker Michael Higdon narrowly missed out on the opener when he struck the crossbar. However, they could not hang on and eventually fell to a 1-0 loss.
After their spirited display, Lennon refused to criticise his players for the defeat, as they had fended off the Celtic attack until the very end.
The Saints boss told the BBC, "I thought the boys were absolutely fantastic. I just felt that we needed a wee bit more belief and bit more about us going forward.
"We got that reaction at half time and we were the more likely side in the 20-25 minute period after the break. But it's Celtic. They did have a lot of the ball and they have so many talented individuals."
Lennon added that he felt youngster Kenny McLean, who made his home debut after being named in the starting XI, had a good game.
"I thought Kenny McLean came on to an outstanding game after the first 10-15 minutes, for such a young lad. We just need to keep bringing (young players) in gradually. He'll take great confidence from that."
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