«LENNON CAUTION OVER TITLE TALK
Too early to discuss whether Hibs can mount a challenge to Celtic, insists cautious Lennon
FOUR points better off than they were at this point last year, Hibernian head to Celtic Park with the air of a team about to take a free swing at an opponent.
Even if Neil Lennon’s side connect and knock the champions on to the canvas, however, do not expect even tentative talk of a title challenge to emanate from their camp just yet.
The winner of five titles as a player at Parkhead and three as a manager, few are better placed to assess what it takes to go the distance in the Scottish game than the man from Lurgan.
As joyous as the Premiership table may look for the Easter Road faithful at present, anyone expecting the manager to even nod towards the prospect of staying second or even bettering that over the course of the season could be in for a long wait.
‘We would have to be 30 games into the season and maybe even after then,’ stated Lennon when quizzed on when he might be minded to review his current stance.
‘You are looking at 33 games before the split and if you are in or about it then, with five games to go, you have to say that you are in with a shout. Apart from that, any time before that is just folly for me.
‘We are only eight or nine games into the season, not even a quarter of the way through, and people are talking about title contenders. Sorry, I don’t buy that. We are not buying that. We will continue on as we are.
‘There are loads of things that can happen. There is Craig (Levein at Hearts) this week losing two very important players long term through injury and that is allied to the players he already has out. That takes a toll.
‘We are all right-ish at the minute with injuries but over the course of the season it all adds up. I’m not sure we have the experience yet to go the whole way.
‘We had a good season last year and if we can emulate it or better it, then I will be absolutely delighted considering the quality we lost during the summer.’
The departures of John McGinn and Dylan McGeouch, in particular, threatened to hole the vessel below the water line in Leith.
What does it say, then, about Lennon’s eye for a player and ability to recalibrate that his team has simply moved onwards and upwards?
Whatever the outcome at Lennon’s old stomping ground today, it’s surely a certainty that his side will compete and entertain.
The fact they did that in every encounter they had with Celtic last season spoke to the trust the manager had in his players. His bond with this term’s pool is growing stronger each week.
‘I am still getting there with them as there are a few relatively new players in,’ said Lennon.
‘They are starting to grow and perform to a level and at the capabilities that we thought they were at.
‘I could have done without the two-week international break because we were in good form.
‘The international players have come back unscathed and they are in a good place.
‘There is no guarantee that will merit a good performance but we have to go out and sample the atmosphere, concentrate on the job at hand and play the game not the occasion.’
What an occasion it is. Last time out, both sides hit six without reply in their respective matches with Hamilton and St Johnstone.
Celtic Park will be bursting at the seams for a game Brendan Rodgers badly needs to win to legitimise his belief that his side have turned a corner.
With Lennon’s team likely to be on the front foot for much of the match, drama and entertainment should abound.
‘I felt as a player subconsciously in the English Premier League when I went to Old Trafford or Anfield it lifts you automatically,’ added Lennon.
‘That is the stuff you dreamed of when you were young. Playing against the likes of Roy Keane, Patrick Vieira, David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes.
‘That is what you wanted in your career.
‘You want to perform against the best and show that you are a match or a measure for them.
‘I don’t think there is anything to fear, but there are concerns about playing a quality team and what they could do to you.’
The caveat is required after Lennon witnessed Rodgers’ side tear St Johnstone to shreds two weeks ago.
The display reprised the form Celtic showed in the first of their manager’s Treble-winning seasons and screwed the volume down on those who have it that they are a spent force.
‘Brendan’s first season is unsurpassable so everything after that, you’re going to go: “They’re not as good as they were”. But they are,’ warned Lennon.
‘I think the most disappointing thing for him was not qualifying for the Champions League (group stage). It’s a very difficult thing to do. I think there might have been a bit of a hangover from that.
‘Watching them at St Johnstone the other week, there didn’t seem to be too many problems.
‘They’ve won six out of six trophies. They’re not doing too badly.’