4 in a roar NEIL LENNON watched Gary Hooper destroy Raith with a four-goal salvo — then backed him to become an England star.
Hooper was unstoppable as he fired Celtic into the League Cup quarter-finals.
And after England goalie coach Ray Clemence saw Celts keeper Fraser Forster against Benfica last week, Lennon wants Roy Hodgson’s scouts to check out Hooper.
He said: “He’s good enough for England.
“He scores a lot of goals and his link-up play was great. He does the hardest job in football and scores in big games.
“He is an intelligent footballer, he’s quick over five to ten yards and his first touch is sublime.
“At times we’ve used him a little bit differently but he thrives on goals.
“As well as his goals tonight, his play was of a really high standard.”
The quartet of strikes took Hooper’s total for the campaign to six — but Lennon was also quick to pay tribute to wide Bhoys James Forrest and Dylan McGeouch.
He added: “The final ball was there tonight and that is something which has sometimes been lacking in the league.
“We had a lot of width and pace about the team and Gary thrived on that.
“The two of them were electric at the second goal — I could have watched it again and again. Efe Ambrose also came in and he was exceptional considering he’s had only a week’s training with us.
“We got Beram Kayal and Joe Ledley on too.
“It was always the idea Beram would play for an hour and Joe for 30 minutes — so we’re now getting back towards our full quota.”
But Lennon shot down any suggestion he’d pick a team for Motherwell on Saturday with Tuesday’s Spartak clash in mind.
He said: “No, that won’t happen. We can go top if we win and I’ll pick a side aiming to win the game.”
Raith boss Grant Murray admitted: “I wouldn’t mind having 11 Gary Hoopers!
“Their movement and the way they passed the ball around was so sharp. It really cut us open.
“But credit to my guys, we got back into it and tried to pass the ball.”
The wild weather meant Celtic were watched by their lowest home crowd under Lennon — 14,737.
Meanwhile, twins Filip and Patrik Twardzik have agreed extensions to their Celts deals. Full-back Filip has signed to 2015, while midfielder Patrick is now contracted until 2014.
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