Celtic manager Neil Lennon savours St Mirren rematch

Neil Lennon's wish was granted as after beating Raith Rovers.

A Kris Commons penalty and late goals from James Forrest and Charlie Mulgrew eased Celtic into the quarter-finals.

And Lennon was eager to face the side who defeated Celtic last week in the Scottish Communities League Cup semi-finals the previous week.

"We're in the next round and I hope we get St Mirren," he said. "I'm looking forward to it if we do."

Lennon was pleased with an improved performance from his side at Stark's Park and described Forrest's goal on his return from injury as a "nice caveat".

"Our back four had a lot better focus than last week," Lennon told BBC Scotland.

"Our approach to the game was excellent. The attitude excellent. We just felt once we got the first goal, the game would open up and that's exactly what it did.

"We looked more like ourselves."

The Celtic boss revealed injured players Emilio Izaguirre and Georgios Samaras will undergo "aggressive rehab" as they seek to be fit for the Champions League meeting with Juventus on 12 February.

"There's no doubt Juventus is looming large in the background but we've tried to balance the squad as best we can and keep the squad healthy and give everyone some game time," he added.