'Jullien is rusty' - Celtic boss Neil Lennon backs star centre-back after difficult afternoon in draw with Kilmarnock

Neil Lennon was left frustrated with his side's draw with Kilmarnock. Picture: SNS

Celtic manager Neil Lennon insisted Christopher Jullien should not be blamed for the Scottish champions dropping their first two points of the season.

The French defender endured a torrid afternoon at Rugby Park, conceding the penalty which allowed Kilmarnock to cancel out Ryan Christie’s opener for Celtic.

While Lennon admits Jullien has yet to get up to speed in the current campaign, he feels there were other factors in his team dropping off the early pace in the embryonic title race.

“I think he (Jullien) is rusty,” said Lennon. “He’s a slow burner, he was the same this time last year. The more games he gets, the better he will become.

“He’s disappointed but that’s not the reason we dropped two points today. We weren’t good enough in the final third at times with all the play we had.

“I’m frustrated. We got off to a good start and then gave away a poor goal from our point of view.

“Then we dominated the second half but didn’t find the answer. We knew Kilmarnock would do very well here, defend with a low block and two banks of four. Our final ball wasn’t good today and that’s something we need to work on.”

Lennon also pointed to the artificial playing surface at Rugby Park as an influence on Celtic’s performance, although not as an excuse for it.

“The pitch is really, really dry,” he added. “Kilmarnock flooded the centre of the box as well. Maybe that little bit of extra sharpness isn’t there in the second game of the season.

“There is lots to work on, lots to get better on. I know what I’ve got with these players and it may turn out to be a decent point at the end of the day.

“Clubs don’t set up their pitches to suit us when we come to play them. They make it as difficult as possible and we can’t use the pitch as an excuse, or the hot weather, or the fact there were no fans here.

“I just don’t think we are at anywhere near top form at the minute, even though we won well against Hamilton last week which delighted me. We still have a few games to get through before we start hitting the heights we can.”

Transfer update

Lennon says it is ‘possible’ Celtic will make further additions to his squad this week and was content with the debut of £4.5 million Greek international goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas.

“We are working away on a few things,” he said. “The squad is a little bit light compared to what it was at the end of last season, so we are looking to bring a couple of bodies in.

“I thought my goalkeeper was excellent today. He was a concern before the game because of a new environment, making his debut, and I thought he handled it very very well and he was unlucky not to save the penalty.”

Lennon welcomed the outcome of the Champions League first qualifying round draw which has given Celtic a home tie against KR Reykjavik on 18 or 19 August. But the venue will not be confirmed until the Icelandic champions learn if they are granted special dispensation to travel to Scotland. The Icelandic league is currently suspended again after an increase in Covid-19 cases.

“Hopefully it will be at home but we’re not sure yet if it might be at a neutral venue,” said Lennon. “We’ll be delighted if it’s at Celtic Park. That’s all we can ask for really and we’ll take it from there.”

Lennon, meanwhile, played down an alleged breach of social distancing rules by striker Leigh Griffiths.

“The club are conducting an investigation,” said Lennon. “I’m not convinced it’s a big issue, so hopefully it will be resolved in a couple of days.

“He’s not fit, he’s got a calf strain at the moment, so he would have missed the game today anyway.”