LENNON CALM AMID HAMPDEN AFTERMATH

Lennon knows his team were not at their best in the cup final win but amid the criticism he tells his players...

SOMEWHERE amid the contrasting emotions which engulfed both halves of the Old Firm divide following the Betfred Cup final, a rare consensus was to be found.

That Celtic were inferior to Rangers on the day was scarcely worthy of debate. Fraser Forster’s display in goal for Celtic rendered almost any superlative redundant, while Alfredo Morelos simply could not do right for doing wrong as he sought that elusive first goal in the derby.

As his side prepares to lock horns with their great rivals in the East End again tomorrow, Neil Lennon is not minded to rewrite history. He has no quibble with anyone suggesting his side might have got away with one on December 8.

As for the assertion that the last encounter somehow gave an accurate depiction of the respective merits of both sides? Well, that’s an entirely different matter.

Because if there’s a general acceptance that his side were off it earlier this month, the Celtic manager believes any balanced assessment must also take heed of some incontrovertible facts.

Forced to do without Odsonne Edouard for 59 minutes, the lack of an out-ball was telling. As for Forster’s display? A fine goalkeeper simply doing what Lennon brought him back to the club for. And if the rest of his charges fell some way short of the usual heights in terms of their use of the ball, who could possibly question their reserves of resilience?

Back on home turf after chalking up an 11th straight league win at St Mirren on Boxing Day, Lennon takes comfort from the certain knowledge that his side will paint a truer picture of their true worth.

‘I think the performance in the cup final is getting overplayed,’ he stated. ‘Yes, we were not at our best and you get that now and again.

‘But I think we will be a different animal come Sunday. The weight of expectation was all on them (the Celtic players) to win their tenth successive trophy and everybody else out there wanted them to lose that run.

‘They are human beings and sometimes they can be a little bit mentally tired and fatigued, but somehow they came through it and I think they got a huge lift from it. And they know they won’t play as poorly as that again.

‘I haven’t looked back at the final yet but I will do before Sunday. One thing that was missing was a centre-forward. That does make a big difference.

‘Everyone is talking about the cup final, yet no one talks about our win at Ibrox where we were emphatic winners.’

A winger being asked to play as a centre-forward, it is no slight on Lewis Morgan to suggest that Celtic were always going to be weaker with him as the focal point of the attack at Hampden.

Within seconds of him making way for Edouard, Connor Goldson had crunched into the Frenchman and, from the resulting free-kick, Christopher Jullien swept home what proved to be the only goal of the game.

Boosted by the prospect of having a fully-fit Edouard at his disposal tomorrow, Lennon added: ‘Centre-forwards make the difference. You live and die off your centre-forwards and he’s in a long list of great centre-forwards we have had over the last 30 years.

‘His presence is missed when he is not there. His link-up play, his physicality, his goals. All of those things have improved this year and he’s playing with a lot of confidence.

‘He set up two goals against St Mirren and his run, timing and weight of pass for the James Forrest goal was fantastic, so we just need another big game from him and that’ll help us a lot.

‘He’s played really well in all of the games, whether it be Europe or in the league. Everyone focuses on Celtic against Rangers games as the benchmark to be a great Celtic player. If that’s the case, then his record in these matches is up there with anybody.’

It says much about the groove

Lennon’s side have been in this season that Edouard’s 16 goals are still not enough to top the charts. Ryan Christie, with 17, leads the race but there have been notable contributions from Mohamed Elyounoussi (7), Callum McGregor (6) and even four goals apiece from Scott Brown and Jullien.

Remarkably, with one game to go in the first half of the season, Lennon’s men are one goal shy of a century and ten points better off than at this stage last year.

‘I was told that the other day and it didn’t surprise me,’ said Lennon.

‘We have been so consistent since losing to Livingston — it’s been a spectacular reaction.

‘No matter who we have played, or what changes we have made, the squad has been superb.’

Despite claiming that tenth straight trophy earlier this month, an unprecedented achievement in the Scottish game, there remains a reluctance to compare this Celtic side to other greats down the years.

A mainstay of the all-conquering Martin O’Neill team which won 25 consecutive games in season 2003-04, Lennon believes such parallels could be made in the fullness of time.

‘It’s too early to say,’ he recalled. ‘We drew at Dunfermline on the opening day and then went on a long run of wins.

‘That’s probably the best Celtic team I played in, the year after Seville.

‘I felt we could have made inroads in the Champions League but we lost a late goal at Lyon and it cost us.

‘We have a bit to go to match that team but they have the potential to do that.

‘The mental strength is great at the moment and we have so much attacking intent.’

The records they have collectively set, Lennon feels, could stand for all time.

‘Well, certainly in terms of Trebles, I don’t think we’ll see that again,’ he opined.

‘You never know in football but I think they are very special.

‘And I think there are some very special individuals who bring out the best in the rest of the group.’

On any given day, O’Neill could have handed the armband to anyone of his choosing. Lennon feels he’s now in a similar position.

‘This squad finds that little bit extra at times and they have great leaders in Scott Brown and Callum McGregor,’ he explained.

‘Fraser Forster and Christopher Jullien have added something and (Kristoffer) Ajer is a good type.

‘There is a good core and they have that winning mentality.

‘Sometimes you leave them to manage the dressing room and you need your architects in there.’

Given that he has lost only four matches since February, and only two of them meaningful, the trust he has in them to deliver is absolute.

‘We know Rangers are in good form, so it’s a game to really whet the appetite for the players,’ said Lennon.

‘What they need now is recovery time and to try and get them as fresh as possible.

‘But I think if we get anywhere near our levels, it’s going to take a very good team to beat us.’