Neil Lennon has applauded his Celtic players as they moved five points clear at the top of the Premiership table.

Goals from Ryan Christie and Olivier Ntcham handed the champions a 2-0 win over hearts at Tynecastle and continued their run of form in the league as they approach the winter break.

Celtic now face Aberdeen, St Mirren and Rangers in the festive fixtures before the league shuts down and Lennon says Wednesday's result puts them in the right place.

"It gives them a couple of days' rest and we look forward to a difficult game at the weekend," he said. "And it puts pressure on the rest of the teams around us to win their games.

"I can't ask any more. That's what we set out to do - win the game, and we've done that with a bit of style as well.

"I was so pleased with a lot of the performances. More importantly the manner we approached the game because we knew Hearts would be up and at it, and they were.

"So we saw that off and once the game opened up we were very, very good."

Celtic are the league's top scorers and Lennon said the only thing that could have improved the night in Edinburgh would have been seeing his side hit the net more often.

"I can't ask any more apart from putting even more of an emphatic scoreline on it," he said.

"We had two great chances before half-time and we had great chances in the second half. If we had gone three or four up we could have maybe run riot.

"But the intensity and quality of our play at times was outstanding on a very difficult surface."