THE MASTERS OF MIND GAMES
Lennon values his stars’ mental strength every bit as much as their talents
YOU can spend all night poring over their highlights reels. You can clock up the air miles and see them in the flesh, if you so desire. But the complete picture of a top footballer is only ever attained by looking them in the eye and ascertaining if they truly have the stomach for the battle.
Even if Celtic’s unprecedented domination of Scottish football extends no further than three seasons, the mental make-up of the squad would still make for a fascinating case study.
If it goes without saying that the individuals trusted first by Brendan Rodgers and then Neil Lennon know how to play the game, it has been their extraordinary strength of character that has set them apart from similarly talented groups.
At Perth on Sunday, on a quagmire of a pitch, a buoyant St Johnstone side represented a very real threat to the visitors’ stranglehold on the domestic honours.
For the 34th successive domestic cup match, though, the Parkhead side found a way to come through unscathed. ‘It’s not just the mentality — they are good players,’ stressed Lennon. ‘But the mentality is good and there’s a core in the dressing room who really drive the team on. The rest of them support that.’
Those players, like James Forrest and Callum McGregor, who have come through the academy system, are schooled as much in the psychological side of the game as they are on technique or tactics.
Where a manager earns his corn is in making judgment calls on those who are brought to the club, invariably for big money.
At clubs such as Celtic, your ability with the ball at your feet is only ever part of the equation. Without the mental wherewithal to cope with the unrelenting demands, it will leave an individual hopelessly exposed.
‘You never really know if a player has that about them when they sign,’ said Lennon. ‘You try to gauge it. You look at their enthusiasm for the game, especially if they’re getting beaten.
‘Do they throw in the towel? It’s the character you are looking for as well as the talent. The people working for the club do the due diligence on their background, their family life and what they are like away from football.
‘That’s what separates the good from the very good. They get into a groove as well. It’s the cycle of playing, recovering and preparing, bang, into the next game.’
On another day, perhaps against another opponent, Tommy Wright’s St Johnstone would have emerged with a replay at worst.
But even with the loss to Copenhagen still lingering in the system and the McDiarmid Park mud acting as a leveller, Lennon always felt sure his side would do what they have done with regularity over the past four years.
‘I was quite calm,’ he said. ‘I felt the goal was coming. We missed a couple of good chances. St Johnstone had a good spell but I was always thinking that we’d get one.
‘Eventually, the goal did come. We missed some good chances but were playing well enough for me to think: “Yeah, we’ll win this”.
‘Even when they had a spell, we were able to ride it out. I think that’s a really good sign for us.’
Setbacks in football are an occupational hazard. The key to happiness — and ongoing success — is ensuring they do not send you into a tailspin.
When Lennon’s side lost to Cluj in August, they bounced back by going 11 matches undefeated.
When that run was ended by Livingston, the response was 12 straight wins. And when Rangers won at Celtic Park in late December, the New Year began with nine wins on the bounce.
Dealing with defeat in such a manner is why a fourth clean sweep in as many years is now a distinct possibility.
Reflecting on the response which
followed that 2-0 reverse on that last visit to Almondvale, Lennon said: ‘You have to — that’s the only thing you can do. We bounced back and won a long run of games.
‘We’re hoping to go there and win on Wednesday night. That’s the focus. We’ll take it from there.
‘We had a big disappointment on Thursday night (against Copenhagen). We shot ourselves in the foot but we responded very well on Sunday — and that wasn’t easy.’
If ever a player learned more in defeat than victory, Christopher Jullien’s display that day in West Lothian was it.
Second best to Lyndon Dykes from the first whistle until the last, it turned out to be the turning point in the Frenchman’s Celtic career.
‘He bounced back really well from that day,’ recalled Lennon. ‘It was something he wasn’t used to. He’d obviously come from a different football culture but he learned from it and he’s embraced it now.
‘He’s been superb for us this season, domestically and in Europe.
‘That was a big lesson for him but it’s one he learned quickly.
‘There is a maturity about him and he has leadership qualities. He has
integrated really well and the boys like him.
‘In some of the big games, he’s put in heroic performances. In Copenhagen, he was outstanding. Lazio, he had a great game. And there have been super performances domestically.
‘His goal tally is right up there as well, with seven or eight for the season already.’
The long-balls with which Livingston peppered Celtic’s goalmouth that day were scarcely a revelation.
But Lennon feels it would do the side who currently sit fifth in the table a huge injustice to suggest they are something of a one-trick pony.
‘They’ve had a few decent results away from home as well,’ he said. ‘You only have to look at their league position to see that they’ve held their own home and away.
‘They beat us 2-0 and, all right, we were down to ten men, but they made life so difficult for us. It’s going to be exactly the same on Wednesday night.
‘We’re going to have to roll our sleeves up. It’s going to be a battle.
‘Their home form is terrific. It’s a really difficult venue.
‘They are a team that I admire. There are no superstars but they work really hard and have great energy. Physically, they are a really tough team.’