Celtic boss Neil Lennon has talked up his players ahead of the final derby of 2019, saying the squad have ecelled so far and that their performance in the League Cup final is being overplayed.

Celtic are five points clear of Rangers in the Premiership, though their rivals have a game in hand, and have progressed in Europe as well as building a run of 11 straight wins in the league.

Lennon was effusive in his praise for the squad, saying it was "a joy" to manage the team right now.

"They are a brilliant bunch," he said.

"It's not been ideal to have a few important players out through injury and we have had to rejig things a little bit, but now slowly but surely we get a full complement of players back at a really good time.

"We keep the training sharp, keep it intense, the fitness levels are good and they look after themselves really well.

"And their mentality is absolutely excellent. They play the game - and it is a difficult thing to do - the way people will perceive the proper way. Great pace in the team, players who excite you, three players at least in double figures already the season which is a great return.

"The midfield been really strong, all season, the two centre-halves have a great partnership.

"We've got a great goalkeeper and players you can score at any time from any position, so it's a sum of all parts and it's a joy for me to be in this position at the minute."

Celtic lifted the first silverware of the season with a 1-0 win over Rangers in the League Cup final but delivered one of their worst performances of the season at Hampden. The criticism appeared to irk Lennon, who pointed out the reasons and said this weekend will be different.

"You have to remember we didn't have a fit centre forward, which is pretty important," he said.

"We had Boli Bolingoli out and Greg Taylor cup-tied so we had to rejig things with Jonny Hayes (at left-back) as well and we were down to 10 men and they still came through.

"Many would feel we didn't play our best, and that's a fair assessment. We still won.

"People talk about the cup final, we will talk about the performance at Ibrox where we were totally dominant and won the game comfortably.

"We look forward to it, we will be strong as we can and take it from there.

"We are confident but quietly confident. We are not shouting from the rooftops just yet. There is a long way to go."