Lennon pledges not to ‘hold off for draw’

Neil Lennon insists his Celtic side will be going all out for a win at Pittodrie today even though a draw will clinch the Ladbrokes Premiership title.

With three fixtures remaining, the Hoops only need to avoid defeat against Derek McInnes’ Aberdeen side to make it eight titles in a row – with the unprecedented domestic triple treble still a possibility – but the club’s interim boss will not send his players out on a cautionary note.

The 1-0 win over Kilmarnock at Parkhead last week means Celtic remain unbeaten in Scotland in 2019 and without loss in Lennon’s 10 games in charge since he took over until the end of the season in February when Brendan Rodgers suddenly left for Leicester.

Lennon, who will have left-back Kieran Tierney available although he is set to have an operation on a double hernia at the end of the domestic season, said: “Pittodrie is always a difficult place to go and they are going for third place.

“I make no secret of my admiration of Derek McInnes and I’m expecting a very tough game.

“They’ve given us plenty of problems over the last couple of seasons.

“We know what’s required, we just need a point. We’re not going up to hold off for a draw. We’re not programmed that way. We are going to try to win the game.

“You don’t want players to lose their focus. This is just like any other game really. It’s the most important one because it’s the next one.

“It was a great win last week against a very good side (Kilmarnock).

“We expect the game to be just as difficult.”

Meanwhile, Joe Lewis has committed the next five years of his career to Aberdeen.

With an extensive summer rebuild on the agenda, Lewis has complete faith in manager Derek McInnes and the board to invest in the squad and ensure standards do not drop.

Graeme Shinnie and Gary MackaySteven are bound for the exit door, while five loan players will return to their parent clubs.

Signing until 2024 means Lewis will see the changes first-hand but it is something that galvanises him, rather than filling him with fear.

He said: “I’ve spoken to people on the board and they’ve said to me that they will back the manager as best as they can.

“We are not the sort of club that will spend way above our means as that’s not the way to run the business as you end up with serious problems.

“But the manager does need to rebuild for sure, and when you think about re-signing you want your ambitions to be matched by the football club.

“At the moment the manager has got a bit of recruitment to do as we are losing some quality players in the summer,” he said.

“That is always going to be the case here, unfortunately, but if the players are doing well then the club are doing well, which is bound to attract other players,” he added.

Dons defender Andrew Considine is suspended for today’s clash.