Commons and Forster: Twin pillars of strength who provided title backbone for Celtic

Commons has stepped forward to fill the void left by his close pal, Gary Hooper, the man who led the club's scoring charts during each of his three seasons at Parkhead before his £5.5million sale to Norwich.

For a 30-year-old who admits he is not a genuine striker, Commons' 22 goals in 27 SPFL games is a return no one could have anticipated - including Neil Lennon.

With another three in the Scottish Cup plus two in Europe, it's put Commons well on his way to beating his best-ever tally.

That came three years ago when he scored 13 for Derby and got his first for Scotland before his January move to Parkhead.

Once here, he began scoring immediately, netting in his debut against Aberdeen and adding a further 14 before the season was out for a grand total of 29.

Lennon is delighted Commons - who he reckons is a strong candidate for Player of the Year - has been the man to fire them towards the title this time around.

He said: "It's a return you would get from a seasoned striker - and Kris is not an out-and-out striker.

"That speaks volumes for his performances. He is a real game changer."

Lennon does not consider this to be any kind of flash-in-the-pan from Commons.

He said: "Kris has had a brilliant season, as he has now for the last couple of seasons, and goalscorers make the difference.

"He's hungry, he's only 30 and he's still got plenty of football left in him."

Of course, Lennon acknowledges that Commons' effectiveness is dependent on those playing around him creating the goalscoring opportunities.

To this end, Anthony Stokes and new arrival Leigh Griffiths have proved invaluable.

Lennon said: "They are intelligent players. Anthony has always had very good movement, and Leigh looks as though he is bringing that to us as well.

"Kris can find little positions on the pitch where people find him difficult to pick him up.

"He has also got that creativity around him in terms of finding that final pass or finish.

"So it is a nice little mix, the three of them together."

It's a front line which cost less than £2.5million to assemble.

And, at just £300,000 - Lubo Moravcik-type money - Commons has proved to be one of the best pieces of business done by Lennon in his four years in charge, even if he does not fit the business model of a raw talent which can be honed then sold on for profit.

Commons' value is to the team, not to the accounts.

At the other end of the pitch, the defensive displays have been every bit as impressive, and important, as the scoring form.

The consistency of selection, particularly in the central area where Efe Ambrose and Virgil van Dijk have developed a solid bond, has been a major reason for the paucity of chances offered up to the opposition.

And, at full-back, Emilio Izaguirre has once again become Mr Reliable, while, on the other side of the park, Mikael Lustig, Adam Matthews and Darnell Fisher have shared responsibility for keeping the door shut.

Standing defiantly behind the solid defensive line has been the man dubbed by Barcelona players The Great Wall.

After shipping 12 goals in his first 13 league games, Forster has allowed the ball to go past him only three times in the 17 games since - and two of those goals occurred in one game, at Aberdeen on February 25.

That night not only saw Forster's Scottish league record of 1256 minutes - just four minutes short of 21 hours - without conceding brought to an end, but also Celtic's unbeaten season in the championship.

The big Englishman's record-breaking is not over for the campaign.

Partick Thistle's Christie Elliot got one past him on Wednesday night, but Forster has kept 19 clean sheets so far and needs just three more from the remaining seven games to set a new Scottish best in a league season.

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