ST Andrew’s has always been a happy hunting ground for Chung-Yong Lee and Neil Lennon believes the Midlands once again brought the best out of the Korean.

Three-and-a-half years since scoring the winner in the FA Cup quarter-final on that very ground and five years since netting his first goal in English football against the Blues, the Seoul star produced his best display of the season to help Wanderers to a 1-0 win in the new manager’s first game in charge.

Lennon worked with two of Chung-Yong’s compatriots Ki-Sung Yeung and Cha Du-Ri in his time at Celtic and was full of praise for the 26-year-old as he inspired a perfect start to life at Wanderers.

“If we can get Chungy on the ball a bit more in the final third then I think we’ve got a chance because he looks a little cut above the rest,” he told The Bolton News.

“He’s class. I had two Korean players at Celtic and a Japanese player, Nakamura, and I know what players from that part of the world bring. They are technically fantastic, their attitude is brilliant.

“What I like about Chungy is that he didn’t shy away from the physical side of it, he went up there and challenged for headers.

“People try to tell me he was a bit wary of challenges but I didn’t see any of that. I know he’s had a horrendous injury and that can sometimes be in the back of your mind but his physical approach to the game was excellent, also he’s a footballer and he made us tick.”

Lennon did not make major alterations to either the line-up nor the formation but got the committed performance he was looking for over the course of 90 minutes.

“You are living in hope rather than expectation coming into a situation like this but I saw the way we started the game, saw them getting into the 50-50 challenges, our full-backs shackled (David) Cotterill really well,” he said.

“Neil Danns was a powerhouse in there and so was Spearing, I couldn’t ask more of them.

“Our two centre-halves were tremendous but I do think that when we have a bit of time on the ball that we should take another pass and use the ball better.”