Boss hopes Ntcham will re-think his exit strategy
NEIL LENNON hopes a heart-to-heart with wantaway Olivier Ntcham could rejuvenate the midfielder’s Celtic career.
The Scottish champions are willing to sell the Frenchman for £12million after he went public on his desire to leave.
Despite persistent links with Marseille and Porto, however, the Parkhead club have yet to receive a bid.
And Lennon moved to build bridges with the former Manchester City player before pitching him in for the 2-0 win over Nomme Kalju.
‘I had a chat with him when he came back, we had a chat during the week and we had a good chat in Estonia,’ said Lennon. ‘It was just about him in general and trying to get to know him a wee bit better.
‘Whether that’s had any effect on his performance in Tallinn I don’t know, but I thought he was brilliant.
‘Whether he plays the ten or midfield, you consider he has only really been back a week or two and it was a really good all-round performance.
‘Again, you have to gauge the level you are playing against and be careful. But there was a lot of good things in his performance and it was pleasing.’
A 7-0 aggregate win means Celtic now face a trip to Romania to face Dan Petrescu’s CFR Cluj in the third qualifying round next week.
‘The only time I’ve come across Cluj was a January winter break when we had a sort of friendly game,’ recalled Lennon.
‘We lost 2-1 and I remember Gregory Tade, the former Inverness player, played for them. They have a good pedigree at this level and a good manager as well.
‘I only played against Dan in the late 90s in the Premier League. He was a class player at Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday.
‘I think he came to Lennoxtown one day.
‘We met before on a personal level as coaches. I can’t remember the exact circumstances but I have a lot of admiration for what Dan did as a player in England.’
With Cluj regular qualifiers for the group stage, the Parkhead boss expects a step-up in quality from Sarajevo and Nomme Kalju.
‘At this stage there are no easy games,’ he added. ‘Romania is a place I’ve never been and it will be a new experience for me. But I imagine it will be a pretty tough environment.’