FIRST FOCUS

It’s Accies not Ibrox that’s on Lennon’s mind

NEIL LENNON has told his Celtic players to banish all thoughts of Ibrox from their minds as they try to stay in touch with leaders Rangers by winning at Hamilton today.

Victory over Ross County on Wednesday ensured Celtic remained 16 points behind their city rivals.

With three games in hand and three Old Firm games to play, the destiny of Lennon’s squad is still in their own hands.

The consensus among supporters, though, is that a defeat in the derby on January 2 would all but end their hopes of ten in a row.

Although Lennon needs no reminding of the importance of that match, he believes it would be folly to look beyond today’s trip to South Lanarkshire. ‘We aren’t looking too far ahead,’ he insisted. ‘It’s just about the next game.

‘We are 16 points behind and have a lot of

work to do. There is no point thinking about Dundee United or Rangers in the new year. ‘The focus is on Hamilton. Let’s get the win and see what happens after that. Hamilton is a difficult game for us. They are a stuffy team on a plastic pitch. It took us a while to win the game last time we were there early last season. ‘We want to maintain our momentum but it won’t be easy. We have to go there and show a good attitude. ‘Hamilton can get results when you least expect it and are a strong, physical team. ‘They are well-drilled defensively and can be a threat from set-pieces. It’s a big game and we know what’s at stake.’ Wednesday’s win was Celtic’s first back-to back league victories since October, with a clean sheet matching the one they achieved in the previous league outing with Kilmarnock. Stressing the need for his team to continue defending solidly, Lennon added: ‘We have conceded too many goals this season — way too many. It’s been off the scale from what I have been used to and that’s an area we have to improve on. ‘But I was pleased with the defence against Ross County. It was a good clean sheet.’ Ismaila Soro has impressed in both of those wins, with Lennon believing the Ivorian is now proving his worth. ‘His English isn’t great although it’s getting better,’ said the manager. ‘He’s French-speaking so he can talk to some of the boys but he did take time to adjust. ‘He is living on his own over here and we had to take our time with him. But he has done really well in the last few games and he gets better as matches go on. ‘His passing is crisp, he covers the ground well and he dovetailed well with Callum (McGregor). ‘He’s a happy lad. He always has a smile on his face and he’s enjoying it.’ Explaining why Soro was unable to start the Scottish Cup final with Hearts, Lennon revealed: ‘We couldn’t start him because he came down with food poisoning on the Saturday night. ‘He still has to mature a bit in that sense but he will learn.’