Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CELTIC PARK SEEK & DESTROY
Lennon eyeing five wins before Scotland’s winter break that will put the champions in pole to see off their Old Firm rivals’ title bid
NEIL LENNON has demanded his Celtic aces give him a five-star finish to the year and open up an eight-point gap over Rangers at the top of the table.
The champions’ lead currently stands at two points as they kick off a run of five Premiership games before the winter break against Hibs today.
The Hoops will play one more game than Rangers in that spell and Lennon knows if his side win all five – including the Old Firm showdown at Parkhead on December 29 – his men will be in pole position in the title race.
And after seeing his side win their last seven league games, lift the Betfred Cup and progress to the Europa League knockout stages, Parkhead boss Lenny has now put the focus firmly on the title and 14 days that could shape their season.
He said: “Five games. That’s the incentive – we want to win them all, and try and win them well.
“But it’s no easy task. We’ll try to take them one at a time.
“Hibs are up first and they had a great win at the weekend against Aberdeen so they’ll come in buoyant but we’re buoyant as well.”
Lennon will bring back his big hitters after giving them the night off for the dead rubber European clash in Cluj on Thursday and he wants his squad at full pelt for the Yuletide push.
He said: “I hope we can maintain the form because we are getting pushed. We must maintain our energy and our focus.
“Leaving the boys behind in midweek I think some of them will have trained on Thursday and been off on Friday and that will stand them in good stead.
“It’s a big week. Hibs, Hearts away, Aberdeen at home, they are three really important games and I didn’t want to run the risk of taking any chances in Cluj.
Their attitude is brilliant.”
Lennon is well wary of a rejuvenated Hibs under Jack Ross this afternoon.
The Hoops boss left Easter Road under a cloud last January and his successor Paul Heckingbottom failed to cut it in Leith. But Lennon is convinced his old club have landed a winner in their new gaffer and he said: “It’s a great appointment.
“He did miraculous things at St Mirren and I thought he was harshly dealt with at Sunderland because I don’t think he did a lot wrong.
“He will do well at Hibs. He’s a progressive manager who likes good football. You can see them being a little bit more expansive already. These games are all tricky. You just have to take them all in isolation but we are at home and our home form has been brilliant.”
Lennon will rely on the likes of Odsonne Edouard, Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie and Scott Brown, but insisted he won’t turn his back on the youngsters who stepped up in their absence in Cluj.
Karamoko Dembele (inset) became Celtic’s youngest ever player in Europe at 16 while 18-year-old Scott Robertson made an impressive debut.
Lennon reckons the next batch of talented kids can follow in the footsteps of Hoops academy stars such as McGregor, James Forrest and £25million man Kieran Tierney.
He said: “Robbo has sort of come in from nowhere and really blossomed in the last three or four months and his performance on Thursday didn’t surprise me.
“And Karamoko we know is a real talent and we want to keep him motivated and keep him around the first-team squad.”