The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
No grey areas as Hoops bid to make the play-off
CELTIC: Lennon sees plenty of ways to hurt Cluj after that 1-1 draw in Romania
Celtic manager Neil Lennon senses plenty of areas his team can exploit in tonight’s Champions League qualifier against Cluj after the 1-1 first-leg draw in Romania.
James Forrest’s first-half equaliser has shifted the balance of the third qualifying-round tie in Celtic’s favour.
The Hoops continued their freescoring start to the season with a 5-2 win at Motherwell on Saturday to make it 12 goals in two Premiership games – on top of the 12 they scored in the first two rounds in Europe.
Lennon said: “They are a big, strong team. They have good pace in certain areas and they are direct. They are a threat at set-plays. I don’t think it’s going to be over-physical, it wasn’t in Romania.
“There was plenty in the game in the first leg to suggest we could hurt Cluj in certain areas, so that’s what we will be trying to do.”
But Lennon added: “Cluj will be hungry. You can see from some of the soundbites coming from them what the game means to them as well.
“We have to match that hunger and earn the right to play and then really play with purpose and a forcefulness.”
Several members of the Cluj camp have claimed it will be a miracle if they qualify, with visiting boss Dan Petrescu quoted as saying Celtic normally get an extra 10% of decisions from referees when they play at home in the Champions League.
Lennon said: “I just ignore it because we have had our fair share of decisions go against us in Europe over the years.
“I thought the referee was excellent in the first leg. I have no complaints over any of the refereeing performances we have seen so far and I don’t think there is any bias from referees either.” Lennon confirmed Celtic would have three players back in their squad.
Mikey Johnston and Hatem Abd Elhamed have shaken off thigh strains while Jozo Simunovic returns from a domestic suspension.
Lennon added: “Everyone is fully fit. Hatem will come back into the squad now and Jozo obviously from the weekend. Mikey is fit so he will be in contention to start. It’s good to have them all in contention.”
Provisional Celtic squad: Bain, Elhamed, Ralston, Bolingoli, Ajer, Jullien, Simunovic, Bitton, Brown, McGregor, Christie, Ntcham, Forrest, Johnston, Edouard, Bayo, Griffiths, Sinclair, Hayes, Shved, Morgan, Gordon.