Fir Park brings bad memories for Lennon’s injury-hit squad

More recently, in February this year, he sustained a defeat on Motherwell’s patch as Celtic manager, which was ultimately just as significant in missing out on the crown.

That 2-0 loss, which came just a week after Celtic had dismantled Rangers 3-0 at Parkhead to move eight points clear in last season’s title race, is still fresh in Lennon’s mind as he prepares for his latest trip to Lanarkshire.

It is one accompanied by plenty of hype, sparked both by Celtic’s own patchwork form under Lennon this season and the impressive campaign being enjoyed by a Motherwell side under Stuart McCall who are currently splitting the Old Firm at the top of the table.

As uncomfortable as he may be in third place, three points behind Motherwell and 12 adrift of Rangers with a game in hand on both, Lennon was gracious in his recognition of the added interest McCall’s work has provided at the summit of Scottish football.

“It’s good for the game here,” said Lennon. “It shows that it’s not all about Old Firm dominance. Motherwell will be looking to take our scalp on Sunday, without doubt. I’m told it’s going to be a full house and I think our players are really looking forward to the game. I certainly am.

“Stuart has done a great job there. Off the back of last season, when they got to the Scottish Cup final against us, they lost John Sutton and replaced him with Michael Higdon, which was a good bit of business. They have Chris Humphrey playing very well this season in a wide position, have two very experienced midfield players in Keith Lasley and Steve Jennings, and in young Jamie Murphy have a player up front who can change a game in a heartbeat.

“There seems to be a good collective there under Stuart. They probably didn’t play as well as they would have liked at Celtic Park earlier this season, when we won 4-0, but Fir Park is a different game altogether. We came unstuck there last year, off the back of a great win against Rangers, and I’m obviously looking to avoid a repeat of that.”

Lennon must do so while contending with an injury list that continues to cause him considerable concern. Glenn Loovens, who limped out of Thursday night’s Europa League win over Rennes at half-time with a hamstring injury , has been ruled out of tomorrow’s match.

He joins Charlie Mulgrew, Emilio Izaguirre, Kelvin Wilson, Scott Brown, Mark Wilson and Mohamed Bangura on the sidelines, while midfielders Ki Sung Yueng and Joe Ledley are doubtful. The spate of absentees this season has caused Lennon to question the playing surface at Celtic’s training ground.

“We are looking at it, because it can get quite slippy when it’s wet,” he said. “It may have an impact on some of the soft tissue injuries picked up by our players. But you can pick them up at any time. I’ve never known a spell like this for injuries. We are down to the bare bones and bringing in young kids.”

One of those kids, 17-year-old central defender Marcus Fraser, shone in the 3-1 win over Rennes at Celtic Park when he was pitched in to make his first team debut as a half-time replacement for Loovens.

While Thomas Rogne, ineligible for the Europa League, is likely to return as Daniel Majstorovic’s partner in the Celtic back four tomorrow, Lennon insists he will have no fears about giving Scottish youth international Fraser further first team involvement this season.

“We do like to blood our young players and it wouldn’t worry me to play Marcus again,” he said. “He was brilliant on Thursday. He has got a good temperament and is very well thought of by our academy coaches. I like his style, he is no-nonsense and just gets on with it. He can play a bit as well.”

Lennon was gratified by the win over Rennes, which leaves Celtic two points behind Atletico Madrid and Udinese in their Europa League group ahead of their final two fixtures at home to the Spanish side on 30 November and away to the Italian club on 15 December.

“We always felt we could compete in the Europa League with the squad we have got,” he said. “I was pleased with the ferocity of the performance, the team work and the togetherness of the players. It should give them a huge lift for Sunday. But we are going to face a different style of football at Fir Park and, if it’s more physical, we’ll need our physical players to play their part.”

McCall, meanwhile, collected his second Clydesdale Bank Premier League manager of the month award of the season after Motherwell secured three away wins in October.

McCall has consistently admitted his team cannot realistically split the Old Firm, but that does not mean he will not drive his players to hit peak form and put Celtic under pressure, as they did when during their 2-0 win earlier this season.

“I think from the media and supporters, the pressure is on Celtic,” McCall said. “But it’s certainly not a game that we feel we have nothing to lose, because we have three points to lose.

“Regardless of who we play at home we always have belief we can win the game. We can take confidence from the last time we met at Fir Park when we managed to put everything together. To beat the Old Firm you need all the ingredients to go for you and certainly that day they did.

“We got the first goal, we played really well, Celtic weren’t at their best and we got a bit of luck, we got a penalty that was 50-50. We have to try to make sure that can happen again.

“As much as everything has been said about Celtic, I want to concentrate on our lads. If we can put in the performance, the effort, the desire that we did last time here, I’ll be more than happy.

“If we are not getting into tackles and getting about the park, we’ll get nothing. At the moment we’re in a mindset where the games can’t come quickly enough because they are winning and playing well. Celtic will be no different, everyone is looking forward to it, we just have to be at our best.”