‘ Euro ties will help quest for 10’
NEIL LENNON has vowed that Celtic won’t take their eye off the ball when it comes to their quest for 10 in- a- row after securing a place in the Europa League group stage with the win over Sarajevo on Thursday night.
Lennon’s side were handed a tough draw yesterday, with AC Milan, Sparta Prague and Lille providing the opposition in their section, but Lennon believes that his side will benefit from frequently testing themselves against such opposition.
“I think it will be good for us,” Lennon said. “We had it last season and it didn’t affect us. We want European football and I think they complement each other. I think it makes us better.
“It’s going to be ThursdaySunday games. But that’s what we want. The players want it and I know the fans want it as well.”
That being said, Lennon acknowledges that his players will have to be managed carefully to cope with their hectic schedule, with the trip to St Johnstone tomorrow lunchtime illustrating his point.
“It’s a very quick turnaround for us,” he said. “We only flew back [ on Friday]. We’ve had analysis of St Johnstone. Now it will just be softly, softly. We’ve still got some good players to come into what we already have. So, we’ll balance things off as we go along.
“St Johnstone are in a transitional period after Tommy Wright was there for so long and done 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.”