Celtic: Neil Lennon praises Tony Watt after double in Inverness

Celtic's Neil Lennon says two-goal Tony Watt has given him "food for thought" with fellow striker Anthony Stokes likely to be out for two months.

Watt was in the starting line-up as the Celtic boss rested several of his regular starters in Inverness.

Lennon was impressed with Watt and Filip Twardzic in the 4-2 win.

"It gives me a lot of food for thought," said Lennon. "I thought Watt had a sensational game and Twardzic was excellent as well."

The Celtic manager explained that he had to balance his squad in light of their Champions League commitments.

Celtic take a 2-0 lead into the home leg of their play-off round tie against Helsingborgs.

"We made the changes because we wanted to give the boys who will probably play on Wednesday as much rest as we can," Lennon told BBC Scotland.

"Tony has very good assets. He is full of running and was a real handful.

"Filip we've known about for quite a while and it was just giving him the opportunity to come in."

With midfielders Beram Kayal and Joe Ledley joining Stokes on the long-term injury list and fellow striker Daryl Murphy being ruled out for a month, Lennon was pleased that the fresh faces showed up so well.

"They have done themselves no harm at all and the senior boys - Lustig, Wilson, Wanyama, McCourt and Hooper - they all contributed brilliantly," said Lennon, looking ahead to the visit by the Swedes.

"The likes of Commons, Samaras and Brown, I am hoping that those three and Rogne will be okay to play.

"The squad is taking good shape now and, considering the hectic schedule we've had, they've performed very well."

Lennon was not overly concerned that Inverness scored two late goals.

"We were 4-0 up, so it was as good a time as any to make the changes and it gives some of the young boys first-team experience," he added.

"It is as good as we've played here. We were dominant throughout the game, scored four and could have had a few more."