Lennon celebrates Celtic's 'phenomenal effort'

Neil Lennon, Celtic manager
It means a hell of a lot to the club. It is a monumental achievement on our behalf. To be at the big table in the new year is a phenomenal effort. To get ten points is a phenomenal effort.

We did not play well in the first half but we got a break with the goal and then we were slack for their goal. In the second half we were a lot better and created good chances; we had to go for it and thankfully it came through for us.

Gary [Hooper] showed why he is in the side with a great goal. He's a goalscorer and he's had a fantastic campaign so far. I've watched our last couple of penalties and we didn't score them so I couldn't watch this one. Kris Commons has gone down in folklore with that goal.

This has been a great learning experience for us all. Now we are more than just the team who beat Barcelona, we are the team who beat them and qualified. This is the premier event, the toughest of the tough. No one gave us a prayer going into this group. This is the best night of my career as manager of this club.

Valeri Karpin, Spartak caretaker coach
I want to congratulate Celtic, it is a great success for them. If we forget about that costly mistake we put one of our best performances in both defence and  attack before the break. I want to thank the fans who came here to support us in the game which could not decide anything.

It is a shame to lose in such matches when the opponents have the minimum of goalscoring opportunities and when it's 2-1 on the scoreboard. I can't remember any more Celtic opportunities while we had some great attacks and combinations before the break and could easily score if we'd taken the right decision.

Our three attacking midfielders were not that active in the second half, probably because they were not ready physically. That is why we had some problems with the transition from defence to attack. However if we take the whole game I don't have any problems with anybody. I want to thank all my lads for this game.