UNTO UCHABLES
Callum McGregor wasn’t for sale at any price – but Neil Lennon insists he has other untouchables he’d never want to see sold.
MailSport revealed in June that former boss Brendan Rodgers had been rebuffed in a move to sign the Scotland playmaker for Leicester – and the story didn’t change when he tried again on deadline day.
However, the Hoops boss hopes the Celtic board are just as steadfast if anyone comes calling for Kristoffer Ajer, Jozo Simunovic or Scott Brown.
The manager hailed his first-choice stoppers for their start to the season, admitting the Bosnian international in particular had won him over in six stellar months.
Skipper Brown is the heartbeat of the side while McGregor is a stalwart for club and country.
Asked about his untouchables, Lennon said: “It’s important to have that backbone, the architects in the dressing room, who keep standards high on and off the field.
“Callum and Jozo are a couple and there are others as well. Kris has been outstanding and, at 21, has so much to look forward to. “There has been interest in him but he would be one of the last players I would want out the door because of the way he is progressing.
“And there was interest in Jozo as well but it dissipated and I don’t want him to go. He is really good player.” The pair had been keeping £ 7m summer signing Christopher Jullien on the bench before his start against Motherwell yesterday – but Lennon insists he’s delighted at the depth that gives him in a department crucial to their hopes of making the Champions League groups.
He said: “I didn’t realise how good Jozo was until I saw him playing and Kris is so consistent. The more they played together at the end of last season, the happier I was.
“With Jozo you have to be mindful of his historical knee issue. His training patterns are sort of constricted.
“You have to look after him and make sure he is fit to play. But they are a good partnership.
“Kris has played almost every minute since I have come in. He’s an outstanding talent who’ll only get better and Jozo is what you would call a proper centre half.
“Christopher has had to be patient but again I thought when he came on, for 15-20 minutes on Wednesday, he looked really good. It is a big compliment to the two guys that I hadn’t had to play Christopher. It’s good to have that strength in a really important area.
“With Jozo it is going to be difficult to play three times a week.
“I wouldn’t say they are first choice but there is a continuity there, a familiarity, that has been carried on.
“Christopher will get up to speed. We know what we have got with him. He is really tough, uncompromising. We will see more of that as we go on.”
Simunovic is likely to come straight back in to the Hoops side for the return with Cluj on Tuesday after missing yesterday’s league win over Motherwell through suspension.
Lennon also confirmed he’s fit after an injury scare in Romania.
He said: “Jozo is alright. There was a little bit of cramp and a burst blood capillary just underneath the eye but we’re hopeful he’ll be fit for Tuesday.
“The defenders have been adjusting to how we play. It’s important to have that cornerstone from last year, that familiarity. It is a good partnership.
“I am not saying it is going to be permanent, it can’t be anyway, but there is a flexibility there that I like – we can go four or three at the back.”
Lennon is hopeful whatever combination he opts for will keep the clean sheet that guarantees Hoops a place in the play-off round against Slavia Prague next week.
He said: “I’m delighted with where we are at the minute.
“It wasn’t easy in Romania but we handled it well and our reaction to going a goal down was great.
“I’m not saying we are cut and dried but having an away goal is a good result away from home at a tough venue.
“Cluj are capable but we looked really dangerous, particularly when we got between their midfield and their back four in the first half. If we had just taken a little bit more care we could have had one or two more goals.
“They posed a threat from set-plays so we need still to be wary.”
Meanwhile, Lennon admits he and recruitment head Nicky Hammond are currently poring over the names omitted from the final squads in England’s Premier League and Championship as he bids to enhance his own side.
He said: “There will be players wanting to come out of their clubs now that the window is shut.
“I have a long list, Nicky is compiling that for me at the minute, working away in the background.
“We do have some positions that we want to bolster but I also need to cull the squad a bit before I start to bring in new players.
“We don’t want a bloated squad again so we want to keep it around about the mid-20 mark plus keepers. That’s not so easy – it needs a balancing act.”