Lennon expects same lift as usual from Dubai trip

Celtic manager defends ‘ important’ trip to the UAE following Sturgeon criticism

NEIL LENNON has defended Celtic’s winter training camp in Dubai amid a backlash against the trip from politicians and fans back in Scotland.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon questioned the need for the camp in the UAE during the coronavirus pandemic yesterday, and raised questions over whether strict protocols would be followed by the Celtic players while abroad.

But while even Celtic supporters have widely expressed concerns over the journey overseas while the rest of the country comes to terms with another full- scale lockdown, Lennon argues that the trip was necessary in order to prepare the players for a gruelling second half of their league campaign.

“We are sure the camp will be really important for us,” Lennon said.

“It is the same format as previous years, obviously with one significant difference being the protocols in place for COVID, but we hope that we get the same lift from it and can go on another great run in the New Year as we did last season, that’s our real focus just now.

“As the club said yesterday, the camp was arranged some time ago, with the full consultation of the footballing authorities and given approval by the Scottish Government. Of course, we understand that we are in very unique and difficult times and there are now even tougher restrictions in place at home, but the camp is risk assessed and arranged in conjunction with Scottish football’s Joint Response Group.

“We have put in place all the appropriate protocols and we have undertaken the camp as we see the sporting benefits from it and hope it can do for us what it has done in the past.

“From the first day of camp yesterday and into today, the boys have been working tremendously hard as we always do on a camp which has served us so well over recent seasons. And that will be the format for the rest of the week, very tough, but productive and important sessions to get us ready for the second half of the season.”

Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor backed up his manager’s assessment, saying that the players would get much more out of the training camp than they would had they remained at Lennoxtown.

“The camp lets us come away into the warm climate and have intense training, and that’s the main benefit of the fitness work – it’s something you can’t replicate at home in the cold weather,” McGregor told the Celtic website.

“The added benefit of the heat improves your fitness when you’re working at that intensity, it gives you a different level of fitness when you go back, and it’s pretty much impossible to recreate that back in the colder climate.

“The objective of the camp is to work as hard as we possibly can and take that into the next stretch of the season.

“It’s slightly different circumstances this time, but the trip and its purpose is exactly the same: we come here, we train exceptionally hard, we hit the reset button and then we go again.

“The trip has been the same for the last few years, as have the benefits of that in terms of fitness work, keeping everyone at their sharpest and getting the boys who’ve maybe not played as much football up to speed.”

From a footballing perspective, McGregor is hoping that the trip to Dubai can provide a platform for Celtic to replicate their postwinter break form of last season, as they look to piece together a similar winning run, in order to exert at least a little pressure on Rangers at the top of the Premiership table.

The trip has been the same for the last few years

Callum McGregor ( far left) and Neil Lennon have leapt to the defence of Celtic’s decision to travel to Dubai during lockdown

McGregor, who captained his team at Ibrox on Saturday and whose unfortunate own goal was ultimately the difference between the sides, admits that the loss will be a hard one to get over.

But he also says there is a determination within the Celtic ranks to respond emphatically to the defeat by winning the three games in hand which they currently have over Steven Gerrard’s men.

“The challenge at Celtic is to try and win every game,” he said. “When you don’t, naturally, there’s a disappointment from everyone.

“It’s exactly the same for the players as well, and you have to deal with that disappointment in the right way. When you get the chance to put it right and rectify it, then that’s exactly what you have to do.

“It’s a big task, we’ve got three games in hand, and we have to win all three of those to close the gap and give us a chance. We’ve known that since we reached the cup final last year – we missed a game in the league from that, so we know that the points gap looks bigger than what it actually is.”

McGregor is firmly of the opinion that the psychology of the points gap at the top of the table will play a massive part in how the season ultimately shakes out.

While the 19- point lead that Rangers currently enjoy appears to be a chasm, he thinks that their mindset may alter if Celtic can reduce that to 10 points by winning their outstanding matches in the Premiership.

If they can do just that, he believes that will increase the pressure on the shoulders of the Rangers players, and they will have to show if they are made of the right stuff in order to seal a long- awaited championship.

“Naturally, when we start to play those games in hand, you start to eat up the gap,” he said.

“From there, we know that anything can happen in the sense that, once you get close, you start to see what teams are made of and how far you can push them.

“That’s the objective for us: to get within touching distance, to close the gap and see how close we can get it.

“And that’s the objective of the training camp: to bring everyone together, train super hard, and then when we come back everyone is refreshed and working towards the objective come the end of the season.”