Celts will focus on own task: Lennon

CELTIC manager Neil Lennon has urged his players to keep calm and focus on their own job after Rangers’ slip-up.

The Ladbrokes Premiership champions stayed five points clear of Rangers, who have a game in hand, after the Ibrox men lost against bottom club Hearts on Sunday.

The result puts Celtic in the driving seat two games after their derby defeat.

Lennon, whose side face Tommy Wright’s St Johnstone in Perth tonight, said: “It’s a result that happens. Things will twist and turn maybe as we go along.

“We are just concentrating on St Johnstone and looking forward to the game because we have played quite well since the turn of the year.”

When asked if his players had been lifted by the Tynecastle result, he said: “I’ve not really detected any change in their emotions over the last couple of days.

“Our focus is on Wednesday, it will be a tough game. Tommy has had a couple of decent results as he always does. Sometimes he gets a bad run and then turns it round into a good run. He is quite shrewd that way.

“We just have to be careful and concentrate on our own business and keep things nice and calm.

“They have been fantastically consistent over the years in terms of league titles and cup wins, they have been absolutely amazing.

“Every year is different. This year is another one where they have a challenge on and they are rising to the challenge as normal.”

Lennon does not expect any more transfer business after completing a deal for Ivorian midfielder Ismaila Soro on Monday, who joins Polish striker Patryk Klimala in arriving at Parkhead this month.

“If we don’t do anything else then I will be happy,” Lennon said. “We have a great squad and real quality in it. It’s a very difficult window. We have got a couple of good players in and streamlined the squad a bit.

“If there’s something available that catches our eye and we can afford it, then we might look at it, but at the minute it’s very quiet. I don’t think anyone else will be leaving.”

And Soro has warned Ladbrokes Premiership rivals “the tougher it gets, the better I get”.

The Ivorian believes he is ideally suited to Scottish football after arriving from Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv.

“When I play, my one main aim is to get the ball back, and to be aggressive in order to get the ball back,” the 21-year-old said, through an interpreter.

“You could say N’Golo Kante is an example to me. I watch nearly all his games. He is a top player in my position and this is something I really want to achieve, if I can, his ability to bring something else to the team and be aggressive.

“I see Scottish football as hard and tough, and I like that. The tougher it gets, the better I get, the more I put in. It is perfect for me.”

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