Tynecastle test prompts Neil Lennon to warn Celtic of complacency

IF there is anywhere Celtic’s players should be insulated against the kind of complacency Neil Lennon is warning them to avoid at all costs, it is Tynecastle.

They have lost on three of their last five visits to Gorgie and it was there that they suffered their last domestic defeat all of four months ago. The 19-match unbeaten run embarked upon since then has seen Celtic installed as odds-on favourites for an SPL title some of their supporters already seem to think is in the bag.

The triumphal mood among fans of the Parkhead club has been heightened by the troubles being endured on and off the pitch by rivals Rangers but it is a mindset Lennon is determined will not infiltrate his squad as they prepare to face Hearts tonight.

“We cannot effect or take in what is going on across the road (at Rangers),” said the Celtic manager. “People will be coming up to our players, slapping them on the back, thinking the league is over and all that sort of rubbish. But we’ve got to keep everything in house and concentrate on what we are doing game by game.

“We are only a point ahead with a game in hand. And that can change very, very quickly. There will be no room for complacency here and anyone showing that will be not playing.”

Adam Matthews reflected the understandable sense of confidence and buoyancy among the Celtic players when he expressed his belief on Monday that they can extend their unbeaten run right to the end of the season.

While Lennon does not consider the Welsh full-back to be guilty of making the kind of assumptions he is seeking to prevent, he did mildly chastise the sentiment which emerged in print. “Adam created some headlines today which I wasn’t happy about,” said Lennon. “Looking at his quotes, they weren’t too bad but even if we do go unbeaten in the league for the rest of the season, there is no guarantee we’ll win the title. It could be seven wins, seven draws and that might not be enough. So it’s far from over.

“It’s up to the players to maintain the levels of intensity they have been showing. But that’s a good place for them to be, because they are enjoying their football and they enjoy being at that level. They are proud of the record they are on at the minute and there is a real incentive for them to keep that going. They should be self motivated because a few of them will remember the hangover from failing to win the title last year and they should want to go one better.

“The players are not fans. Some of them will have an affiliation with the club but the main thing is they are professional footballers and at the minute they have to play really hard, professional, tough football because, while this run goes on, there will be a team lurking out there that wants to take our scalp. A lot of outsiders will want us to fall. That is the challenge ahead.”

Lennon believes few teams carry a greater level of motivation against Celtic than tonight’s opponents and subscribes to the theory Hearts consistently raise their game when his club come to town.

“Oh yeah, there is no doubt about that,” he said. “I thought they played very well at Celtic Park in our last game when we beat them 1-0. It was a really tough game and since then they have gone on a really good run. So they are quite capable of doing some damage to us.

“I remember the game at Tynecastle in October when we lost 2-0 vividly, although it feels like a long time ago now. I thought we had the majority of the game, but Mo Bangura missed a really good chance with a header and Kris Commons had a couple of really good chances. We were a bit wasteful in front of goal. The balance of play was with us but at 0-0 you are never safe. Rudi Skacel scored a really good goal out of nothing and then we got caught on the break chasing the game and we were down to ten men with losing Kris. It wasn’t a good day but I think we’ve come quite a way since then.”

Lennon has also managed to distance himself from the unhappy memories of his visit to Tynecastle at the end of last season when he was physically attacked by a Hearts supporter.

“I was there on Sunday to watch their cup tie against St Johnstone and Hearts treated me really well,” he said. “I have no concerns about going back there at all. It doesn’t even enter my head, it’s consigned to the history books. The guy has had his case and done his time. Let’s move on.”

Polish international striker Pawel Brozek, signed on loan for the rest of the season from Trabzonspor, is in the Celtic squad and could make his debut tonight.