Celtic head coach Wim Jansen praised his entire side for adapting to and applying the system he devised to break Rangers' Old Firm grip. For Jansen it was success at the third attempt and he revealed the 1-0 November defeat at Ibrox told him how to approach the match - by playing Rangers at their own game.

"We know the system they like to play, so we wanted to play pretty much the same way with an extra man up front," he said. "We had done the same to secure a 1-1 draw here on November 19th and it worked for us in a game I feel we deserved to win.

"I'm delighted with the way we played, especially in the secondhalf when from the first minute of that half we put them under pressure. I feel the way we played today can give us confidence. I reckon we played better as the match progressed and dominated the game after the break."

Jansen admitted there was some relief in the Celtic dressing-room beforehand when the news filtered through that Paul Gascoigne was only fit enough to be a substitute.

"We know about Paul's qualities, he has the ability to change any game and it made it a bit easier for us that he did not start. The one time I was concerned was early in the second-half when the goal had not come.

"We had a lot of pressure, but there is always the concern they might counter-attack and score as happened earlier this season. Even when we did score it was not over as they came back, but the second goal made us safe."

Rangers manager Walter Smith insisted he had "no complaints" about a result which led him to taste league defeat for only the second time this season.

"I'm disappointed, but have no complaints in the sense that Celtic won the match in the one period of the game one of the teams gained the upper hand. The 20-25 minute spell after half-time was when they won it and we lost it after we had started the game well.

"Just before half-time the signs were there that we were playing well and it was straight after the interval which cost us the match. Celtic have had our record against us pushed against them so they were motivated."

Asked why he had left Gascoigne on the bench, Smith replied: "Having not played five of the last six games it was too much to ask of him. I never really contemplated starting with Paul as this was always going to be one of the hardest games to play.

"We have two home matches now and that is a help - but we will have to do better than in the second-half today."

Celtic scoring hero Paul Lambert warned his team-mates the win will be irrelevant if they do not use the win as a springboard to end Rangers' run of nine championships in a row.

Lambert sounded a note of caution amid all the celebrations among the green and white half of Glasgow. "The win will count for nothing if we don't win the next one," said the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder. "But if we play like this, we won't be far away."

"We got criticised heavily after last week, but you can't bounce back better than that," said Craig Burley, who has been a revelation since signing from Chelsea in the close season. "I think it takes the pressure off a little bit. Even though there are a lot of new players here, you can feel it.

"It's a magnificent feeling for all the boys and everyone involved in the club, but we've got to go on from this performance now."