NEIL Lennon praised the ruthlessness his players showed as they came back from a goal down to rout Motherwell at Fir Park – and insisted his squad is so strong now that he doesn’t even know his best team. Substitutes Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie were among the five different players on the scoresheet for the Parkhead side yesterday in a match where the Northern Irishman shuffled the pack a little to ensure his players are at their freshest for the return Champions League qualifying tie against Cluj on Tuesday night.

“I don’t have a first-choice eleven,” said Lennon. “These guys are quality players, first-team players. [Leigh] Griffiths is a Scottish international with a proven record for goals and [Olivier] Ntcham is a £5m midfield player who has shown he is that – probably more now.

“So I had no hesitation in playing them," he added. "We had to change the back four with Hatem Abd Elhamed and Jozo [Simunovic] being out and that might have caused us a few teething problems early on. It is difficult to get that consistency of selection with that going on but as the game wore on we looked very, very assured and strong.”

In addition to praising Kris Ajer – a goalscorer from right back - and Lewis Morgan, Lennon also had words of support for Boli Bolingoli, the much-maligned Belgian left back who is shouldering the burden of replacing the departed Kieran Tierney at left back. A player who appears happiest attacking rather than defending, he had a hand in a couple of goals yesterday. In all, Celtic have scored 12 goals in two Ladbrokes Premiership encounters.

“People keep singling him out and I think it is very, very unfair on him,” said Lennon. “He is another one who has the game wore on got stronger. I thought he was superb second half. There are a few bits and pieces he can iron out and we haven’t had the chance to really work with him on the training ground but as the games go on he is getting better.”

The result was harsh on Motherwell, show played some enterprising football in the opening half hour. Lennon’s opposite number Stephen Robinson said that individual errors had cost his side.

“Some of our football in the first half was terrific, thought we pressed the life out of them,” he said. “There are a lot of positives that I can take out of it. It reminded me a little of the game I seen in the Premiership last night [Liverpool’s win over Norwich] where there is a lot of positives but if you make individual errors.

"Celtic didn’t open us up," he added. "The two goals [in the first half], one was a long ball from Bain, indecision from one of our defenders, who didn’t go and press, and it’s a goal. The second one is long punt up the pitch and it’s a needless foul. Individual errors you might get away with against lesser teams but not against Celtic."

A keenly contested match ended on something of a sour note with a bad-tempered row between Celtic forward Scott Sinclair and members of the Motherwell ground staff, with the Englishman thought to have been angry about being asked to get off the pitch after the final whistle.