Celtic v Helsingborgs: Celtic ‘fearless’ says Lennon

Despite holding a commanding 2-0 lead from the first leg of the Play-off round tie against Helsingborgs in Sweden last week, Celtic manager Neil Lennon will not be able to relax before the final whistle is blown and a place in tomorrow’s money-spinning Monte Carlo draw is confirmed.

Until then, he will share the innate dread of things going wrong which lurks in the mindset of even the most optimistic supporter. But while Lennon concedes he will be pacing his technical area anxiously this evening, he is confident his players will prove immune to any concerns that this tie could yet turn against Celtic.

“With them being so young, I don’t think they have experienced any sort of pressure like this before,” observed Lennon. “So there might be a fearless attitude towards this game. I’ve not detected any sort of tenseness or nerves around the place at all this week. They all know what’s at stake and they are looking forward to it. They have worked very, very hard to get into this position and I think they are well motivated not to let it go.

“Once you are concentrated as a player, even when the atmosphere is electric inside the stadium, you can lose yourself in the game. You can miss the crowd out at times if you are really intense in your concentration. I’m hoping that’s what the players experience on Wednesday night, that they are just totally focused on the game and not distracted by any of the surroundings

“I’m tense and nervous, but it’s different for me. I’m not playing. You are not powerless once they cross the white line, because you can still make adjustments, but you can’t directly affect the game on the pitch.”

Despite the long odds against Helsingborgs being able to overcome a 2-0 deficit, much has been made in the build-up to the nervy night Celtic endured in 2001 when they qualified for the Champions League group stage for the first time in their history. After winning 3-1 away from home against Ajax in the first leg, they lost the return 1-0 at Parkhead.

“I have thought about the Ajax tie, but not too much,” shrugged Lennon, a Celtic player on that occasion. “It was different times, a different Celtic team and different opposition. We are going to approach the game the way we always approach a home game, whether it is domestically or in Europe. We are going to try and win the game. I think we are well capable of doing that with the attacking players we have in the team.

“It is a possibility that Helsingborgs could score first and it’s something we have to factor into the preparations for the game. We have to be able to react to that in the right way if it happens. You can go out with the best-laid plans and then, like we did last week, the away team scores inside the first couple of minutes. But I’d rather be sitting here 2-0 up, than going into the second leg at 0-0, 1-1 or even 2-1 down.”

Lennon is bidding to become only the third Celtic manager, after Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan, to lead the club into the Champions League group phase. Asked if it would eclipse any other achievement in his career so far, he remained resistant to dealing in the hypothesis of a clearly significant personal landmark.

“I’ll let you know afterwards, one way or another,” he replied. “It would absolutely mean more to me as a manager than it did as a player. For me, it would be a progression. The initial remit was to win the SPL and we’ve done that.

“That was progress last season. Progress this season would be Champions League football. We would look on it as progress for the team, that we are going in the right direction and build from there.

“Over the last couple of years, they have seen an exciting young team develop here. The next step would be Champions League football. We will see, if and when we get there, where it takes them.”

Lennon will delay his team selection until the fitness of Thomas Rogne, Scott Brown, Kris Commons and Georgios Samaras is assessed this morning. All four missed Saturday’s 4-2 SPL win at Inverness.

Norwegian defender Rogne is the most doubtful with an ankle injury, although Lennon is hopeful all of them can return to his starting line-up. If any are ruled out, however, he insists he would have few concerns about pressing youngsters Filip Twardzik and Tony Watt, who both shone against Inverness, into action against the Swedish champions.

“It’s a wee bit different going from Inverness to a Champions League qualifier,” added Lennon. “But by how they are looking and feeling right now, why not?”