We DON’T need to talk about Kenny...
BULLISH CAIXINHA INSISTS HE WON’T BE DISTRACTED
HE’S an old hand at slapping down the social-media twits and blundering broadcasters daft enough to assume football is a predictable business.
So when Neil Lennon saw the BT Sport advert relegating both Hibs and Motherwell to bit-part players in this weekend’s Betfred Cup semi-finals, he had a quiet chuckle to himself. And remembered what happened the last time he was on the receiving end of such a public snub.
‘I’ve had it myself at Celtic when a Champions League draw was made — and somebody Tweeted: “Bye-bye Celtic!”’ revealed the former Parkhead boss.
‘So there are a few smart a **** about still, obviously. We got to the last 16 that year! And I took great satisfaction in that. Who was it? It was ITV. I have a long memory…’
Lennon can afford to laugh about this week’s cack-handed bit of promotion that prompted a sharp response from Hibs’ own design gurus, who reproduced Celtic’s name in tiny letters next to a gargantuan ‘Hibernian’. After all, his team were within ten minutes of a win at Parkhead Glasgow just three weeks ago.
He knows they have more than a chance, whatever the bookies and Old Firm-centric promoters might think, of reaching a first final since their 2016 Scottish Cup triumph.
‘In it to win it’ is the phrase he uses to describe the attitude at a club where outside distractions are treated as part of the territory.
Insisting he ‘didn’t bat an eyelid’ about an advert he described as no worse than ‘a bit naughty’, Lennon said: ‘There are two other teams in the semi-finals.
‘The general expectation will be that it will be an Old Firm final. Myself and Stephen Robinson (Motherwell manager) will want to have a say in that.
‘It hasn’t irked me or anything like that. The club’s response was funny. They responded in the right way, with a bit of humour. And BT have apologised for it.’
Asked about the possibility of using a siege mentality to fire up his players, Lennon conceded: ‘I’ve done that in the past, sometimes. No one is giving us much of a thought. But we raised a few eyebrows with our performance at Celtic Park a few weeks ago.
‘So there can be no element of surprise for us. And there won’t be from Celtic’s point of view.
‘We all know how Celtic play, the individuals they have. So you just batten down the hatches.
‘The League Cup and Scottish Cup are, realistically, competitions we can win. The Premiership title, that’s probably way beyond us. But this cup, we’re in it to win it. And we’re down to the last four.
‘It’s important for a club like Hibs to have a good record in the cups. We want to get to finals, I want to manage in finals.
‘We’ve negotiated this competition well so far. Now we have the biggest hurdle — and we have to get there. Celtic are just the next opposition, the next hurdle. And we have to play very strongly.’
The problem for Hibs is clear. They need to find a way to cope with Celtic’s pace in wide areas.
Lennon sees the answer as forcing the opposition wingers way out towards the touchlines, knowing that Brendan Rodgers’ team ‘aren’t the biggest’ and making it easier to defend against crosses.
The 2-2 draw in Glasgow three weeks ago, when John McGinn and Callum McGregor each bagged doubles, is still very much on everyone’s mind.
From the team who played that day, Steven Whittaker is a minor doubt with a sore hip and Paul Hanlon has been struggling with a virus. It would be a surprise, however, if either missed out.
Ross Laidlaw will retain his place in goal, while Lennon has a couple of choices to make in the wide areas himself.
Whoever he picks, he’ll be looking for his ‘names’ to assert themselves. McGinn is one. Anthony Stokes, whose most recent visit to Hampden involved scoring twice against Rangers to lift the Scottish Cup, is another.
‘We have players who have been over the distance,’ said Lennon. ‘They enjoy the big games and that’s why they are here. I’m hoping Stokesy gives us the same again. He’s started off really well this season — and these are the kind of games that get his juices flowing.
‘We don’t want to be sitting watching the final thinking: “That could have been us”. So they can’t leave anything out on the pitch tomorrow.
‘That was our approach against Celtic last time and we want more of the same. You can’t replicate everything about a game — and I don’t know how much of a bearing it will have on tomorrow.
‘It’s a neutral venue, different competition. But I imagine most of the same players will be involved. Psychologically and confidence-wise, they know they can compete.’
Lennon watched Celtic being picked apart in Munich this week. He’s not naive enough to think there won’t be some kind of reaction.
‘You can look at it two ways,’ he said. ‘There could be a backlash. I’ve played in games like that, where we’ve had the runaround, and the first thing you want to do is get back on the pitch again.
‘Or they could be a little bit sore. There could be a bit of fatigue, mentally and physically. If there is, we absolutely need to take advantage of that.
‘Knowing the character of Brendan and his team, we’re more likely to see the former — a backlash. Because they do bounce back very well.
‘This is a team unbeaten domestically in over a year. So I’m not going to say we’ll just turn up and run over the top of them. That won’t be the case at all. But there will be spells when we are on top. And we have to take the chances when they come.’
After last week’s 1-0 home loss to Aberdeen, Lennon has been putting his team through endless attacking and finishing drills.
He doesn’t like the word ‘ruthless’ to describe what he’s after, settling instead on ‘clinical’.
‘We have to be more precise, rather than try to walk the ball into the net at times,’ said Lennon.
‘And certainly, against a team like Celtic, you’re not going to get those opportunities too often.’
Chances may be infrequent. Goals hard to come by. But Hibs have to feel they have a chance to write their name in bold capitals in a competition that, according to some, is already scripted down to the final fixture.