DEAL WITH IT
Lennon tells troops: Glamour Europa draw can help us win the title.. I can’t wait for it
NEIL LENNON insists Celtic’s 10th straight European group stage campaign will be a help, not a hindrance, to the quest for 10 in a row.
The Hoops boss says his side and Rangers deserve huge credit for carrying the Scottish flag into the main body of Euro competition once again. But with so much pressure
FROM BACK PAGE resting on the Premiership title as Celtic look to make history some reckon the intensity of Thursday-Sunday football will take its toll.
Lennon, whose side travel to face St Johnstone tomorrow, disagrees and he said: “It will be good for us. We had it last season and it didn’t affect us.
“We want European football and they both complement each other. It makes us better.
“It’s going to be ThursdaySunday games but that’s what we want. The players want it and the fans want it as well.”
The Old Firm delivered another shot in the arm for the Scottish coef f i c i ent by negotiating their play- of f ties on Thursday night.
Celtic’s 1-0 win away to Sarajevo was packed with tension but they can now look forward to another Euro payday.
Lennon said: “It is fantastic what Celtic and Rangers have done and we deserve a lot of credit.
“Over the last couple of years both clubs have raised the bar. We want to be at the forefront of that again.
“We had a great group stage last year, so we’re hoping for more of the same this season.
“Hopefully we can also get out of the group and take it into the knockout stages.
“We’ve done the hard yards and now we’ve got so much to look forward to.
“From our point of view, it’s our 10th straight group stage qualification and that’s great.
“I was worried about that before the game. It was a bit of tension for me but I didn’t want to permeate that to the players.
They were absolutely brilliant. It was a really good night for us.”
Whi le Celtic’s win on Thursday made it seven wins on the bounce, tomorrow’s opponents St Johnstone are at the bottom with just three points from their last six games.
Lennon is taking nothing for granted ahead of the trip to Perth and he said: “It’s a very quick turnaround for us.
“We only flew back today. We can’t do anything with them Saturday. It’s a second day recovery, then we go to Perth.
“The boys will look forward to the game. They’ ll get a psychological boost from the win over Sarajevo.
“St Johnstone are in a transitional period af t e r Tommy Wright was there for so long and did a great job. Callum Davidson will want to put his own stamp on things.
“We’re under no illusions, it’s going to be a tough game.
“It is to their advantage to a point but we’ve got a real strong squad.
“You saw Elhamed come on in Sarajevio and he did very well. Griff is almost fit, he’s just lacking a bit of match practice. It’s the same with Rogic.
“We’ve got Turnbull while we maybe think about Ntcham, who got 10 minutes against Sarajevo. We’ve still got some good players to come into what we already have.”
Lennon reckons Davidson has huge boots to fill replacing Perth legend Wright – much like when he took over from Brendan Rodgers.
He said: “Yes, a real hard act to follow. Callum will eventually put his own stamp on things, but it takes time.”