A matter of trust: Lennon gives new Celt confidence

Albian Ajeti last night handed Celtic boss Neil Lennon the credit for his return to goalscoring form.

The Swiss, a £4.5 million signing from West Ham this month, didn’t hit the net at all in the nine matches he played for the London club last season.

But at Tannadice he took just nine minutes after his introduction as a late substitute to score his side’s late winner against Dundee United. “The difference between West Ham and here is I feel the trust from the gaffer,” he said. “He gives me my confidence back and not only for a striker but for all players it’s important to feel that trust and a good relationship with the gaffer.” Lennon was thrilled and looking forward to similar contributions in the future.

“Is it the first of many for Albian? I hope so,” he said with a broad smile. “I don’t want to make predictions but looking at him and the type of player he was at Basel, he knows where the goal is. “He knows how to play centre forward so we’re hoping we can tap into that here.

“I’m delighted for him, it’s always good for a striker to come in and make an early impact. “You can see he’s not match-fit yet but that’ll do his confidence the world of good.

“He did great to keep the ball alive for the goal. We were thinking he was going to flick it into the goalie’s arms and it would die.

“But he kept it alive then flashed a great finish. And I think some of his link-up play was good as well. “He’s a work in progress in terms of his fitness. He’s still another couple of weeks away. He has to get used to the speed of the game and how we play.

“But having that early impact will do him good. He’s had a tough time of it in the last 12 months.” United manager Micky Mellon was meanwhile looking on the bright side of a painful defeat.

“It was a killer but that shows you the measurement probably of how we feel we have done. We have worked our socks off,” he said. “When I came in at the start of the season we wanted to try and move the club forward so we could be a team that can make an impact at this level.

“We knew we were coming up against the Scottish champions but we had a right good go at it and I think everyone who was here or watched on tele would agree. “With a wee bit of fortune and quality, we will be more than OK.”