Neil Lennon glad to have City and United

NEIL Lennon believes the prospect of facing either Manchester City or Manchester United in the knockout stages of the Europa League will give his Celtic side extra motivation when they take on Udinese in their final Group I game in Italy on Thursday night.

The Hoops need to beat the Italians to go through to the last 32 in second place behind Atletico Madrid.

And if they do, the two Manchester clubs will be waiting for them, along with the others who have dropped down from the Champions League.

The Celtic boss claims the two English clubs, who occupy the first two spots in the Barclays Premier League, will add prestige to the much-maligned tournament and will provide his players with an added incentive against Udinese.

“Absolutely,” he said. “There are a few commentators and journalists up here who describe the Europa League Cup as a ‘diddy cup’ or something like that.

“I think their attitudes will change now.

“It is still a big, big competition and that has been our thought from the start.

“The fact that those two huge clubs are in it will add more to the game on Thursday night.”