Martin O’Neill admitted he was concerned about how Celtic would respond to Thursday night’s defeat to Benfica before his side answered him in emphatic fashion against Hearts.

Celtic went into Sunday’s Premiership match at Celtic Park needing a reaction after a difficult night in Lisbon.

The Hoops had lost 4-1 to Benfica in the Europa League, leaving them without a point from their opening two league phase matches.

But Celtic blew the Tynecastle side away, winning 7-1 and moving four points clear at the top of the Premiership.

Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, O’Neill admitted he had wondered how his players would handle the Benfica fallout.

He said: “We scored some really great goals as well, and I’m delighted.

“That helps immensely, like everything else, but there’s still a long way to go.

“It was nice to win today because I’m concerned about all matches, but I was concerned after Thursday night.

“I was wondering how we would feel. Could we get ourselves together for it?

“And obviously, Hearts are a big challenge.”

Celtic answered that question quickly.

Kieran Tierney opened the scoring early on before Benjamin Nygren made it 2-0 inside ten minutes.

Camilo Duran added the sixth after the break and Nygren scored again late on to complete the rout.

O’Neill had made strong attacking decisions, with Kasper Høgh dropping to the bench and Duran starting through the middle.

Haissem Hassan and Osmand were also handed starts after their impact from the bench against Benfica.

Celtic looked sharper, quicker and far more clinical than they did in Portugal.

The main concern is now carrying that into Thursday night, when Celta Vigo visit Celtic Park in the Europa League.

O’Neill has already said Celtic need to win that game after losing their first two European matches.

The Hearts result lifted the mood. Thursday will show whether Celtic have really turned a corner.