Neil Lennon: Our opponents may feel Celtic are vulnerable

Blood will be scented by St Johnstone when they take to Celtic Park on Sunday, according to Neil Lennon.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon says he's not "a happy clapper" in beleiving Milan display can be springboard for ending run of three straight defeat when facing St Johnstone (Photo by Giuseppe Maffia / SNS Group)

The fact that the blood seemed to be pumping to decent effect among his players even as they went down 4-2 in the San Siro against AC Milan the other night is what the Celtic manager is looking to in countering any threat.

The encouraging aspects of much of Celtic’s play against an Italian behemoth enjoying their best ever start to a league campaign – defensive protection aside, obviously – have been brushed over as they would not have been on other occasions. It is all about context, with judgement on the defeat made on the basis of the ruinous run in which Lennon’s men have won only twice in 11 games and shipped in 27 goals.

Such brittleness emboldens opponents and makes every game a potential minefield for a Celtic manager no longer wanted in post by a considerable faction among the club’s support. Considering they could be 14 points behind Rangers in this storied ten-in-a-row chasing season Lennon cannot afford his team to have another game blow up in their faces – for more reasons avoiding the disorder that ensued outside the stadium following the League Cup loss to Ross County last Sunday that ended Celtic’s four-year monopoly of domestic honours. Callum Davidson’s men are unbeaten in the ten games since they were defeated by McDiarmid Park to give Celtic an eighth straight victory in an encounter that seems to belong to another lifetime but was only two months ago.

“St Johnstone are always stodgy opposition to play against and they may feel we are a little bit vulnerable,” Lennon said. “But it doesn’t matter who we are playing. We have to try and end this run as quick as possible. Hopefully, they [the fans] will be celebrating a victory as that’s what we’ll be trying to do. I’ve touched on what we thought of it [the protest] last Sunday and, if it is going to be reminiscent, it’s not what we need or what the players need.

“The players are all head scratching [about the run], but they showed on Thursday night what a good team they can be. We took the game to Milan in the San Siro. I think it may have inspired them a bit playing there. So, hopefully, going back to Celtic Park is going to inspire them even more now.

“We know what’s at stake and we know what we have to do. We looked far more like ourselves in Milan. I was disappointed with the third and fourth goals. We had enough bodies to be dealing with it and we should be dealing with it. I think we lacked a little bit of physicality in certain moments. That's all. We need to tackle better and we need to do the dirty bits of the game better.

“But I thought we were outstanding going forward and we looked a threat. We played very well under the circumstances and we played with bravery, so we need to take that forward now. I know it’s all about perspective and I don’t want to sound like a happy clapper, either. But I don’t think we are a million miles away from being a real force again.”

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