Hoops skipper Scott Brown will get his feet up before returning for the final weeks of the season, but the midfielder was still enjoying the afterglow of Celtic’s win at Ibrox.

Brown was free to play in the game after a suspension was downgraded and, for the second week in succession, he was hugely instrumental in the middle of the park.

And the captain believes that such was Celtic’s dominance in the game that Rangers couldn’t wait to get rid of the ball whenever they had it.

Speaking to Celtic TV, brown said: “From start to finish the lads showed their qualities and showed their strength. At the end we ended up making Rangers kick the ball long every single time.

“That was their philosophy and they struggled to keep playing the way they wanted to because of our pressure, our fitness and our quality on the ball.

“When we turn up, we are better than any team in Scotland and we done it yet again. We came to our supposed nearest rivals and we showed them how good we are on their own turf.

“The lads are all outstanding. It is a proper team game and there are no individuals in our squad and it shows the togetherness we have. We are all there celebrating together, we score a goal we are all together, and when we defend we are all together.

“For me it was great to win the appeal because it was never a red card. It wouldn’t have mattered if I was playing or someone else because we have top quality players on the bench who can come on and change games and create chances. That is why we score goals at the end because of the fitness levels.”

Brown will down tools – but he has maintained that Celtic will not.

“We need to keep going,” he insisted. “The gaffer wants us to get better week in, week out. There are five games left and we need to maintain the level we are playing at for as long as we possibly can.”