“Are they favourites now? For me, they are."
Neil Lennon believes Celtic will retain the Scottish Premiership title after moved them to within one point of leaders Hearts with two games remaining.
It has been a title race like no other as the Hoops came from behind to win the final Old Firm clash of the season after on Saturday.
Rangers' third straight defeat since the split ended their faint hopes of a trophy win, with Celtic and Hearts now potentially locked on course for a final-day showdown at Parkhead on May 16.
Celtic travel to Motherwell before then on Wednesday, while Hearts host Falkirk, and former player and manager Lennon believes his old side now have the momentum going into the final two fixtures of the season.
"I would put Celtic as favourites, on current form," he said after Celtic's win over Rangers. "Obviously, they have a difficult game on Wednesday and then Hearts at home. If you were going to say 'you've got to win a game for the title on the last day of the season, do you want it home or away', then you'd want it here at Celtic Park.
"They needed three wins but in three of the toughest games you could get. They have negotiated one and it is a two-horse race now."
Lennon also praised his old boss Martin O'Neill, who he will face in the Scottish Cup final with his Dunfermline side later this month
"He looks really cool and calm," Lennon said. "I think he has handled the media and the games brilliantly. Whether this is his last hurrah, he will want to go out winning the title and his team is now responding to the level we know they can.
"They were great in the second half, dominated the game and deserved to win and that was psychologically massive for them because they haven't shown that a lot this year and all of a sudden momentum is with them.
"They will get a massive lift from winning that today and then it all rolls on to Wednesday now. Are they favourites now? For me, they are."
For Rangers, however, Danny Röhl's side are now guaranteed to finish third and trophyless again.
Former striker Kris Boyd insists that yet another rebuild will be necessary over the summer and has once again questioned the mentality of a Rangers team that has lost three games in a row for the first time since 2000.
"What is worrying would be the continuous drop off from this Rangers team," he said. "When you play in spells that Rangers have been and they look a good team, but, all of a sudden in the moments you need to suffer - they fold. Rangers fold.
"They go as individuals and that's the time when you need leaders. You need to pull them in, make yourself harder to play against - they are so easy to play through.
"The drop off is concerning from one half to the other that Rangers are showing right now. They lost two games all season in the league up until the split. They have now lost three games in the split.
"Danny Röhl will come under serious questions now. He has already batted away the mentality ones but there is a mentality problem within that group, there is no doubt about it.
"When everything is going well, Rangers look a good team, but when they have to suffer, they fold. Röhl speaks about next season - it is a big, big summer for Rangers. They have obviously missed out on second place now as well which is a lot of money.
"Another rebuild - I'm fed up saying it."
