Parkhead fear factor gone, says Saints boss

The Paisley side travel to face the Clydesdale Bank Premier League champions tomorrow and will be buoyed by a run of four league matches without  defeat.

Celtic have found victories on home soil hard to come by this season and have failed to record a home win in the league since early October.

“I certainly believe that at Celtic Park they have been inconsistent this season, they were expected to run away with the league but there are teams running them very, very close,” said Lennon. “Even their fans are having a wee go at them at this  moment in time, you see Rod Stewart elated with tears of joy after the win against Barcelona and then in the next game there are two or three fans having a right go at the manager – there is even  inconsistency there.

“Neil Lennon has done a wonderful job for such a young manager, to have that type of pressure on you where you are expected to win every game must be very hard.

“To reach the last 16 of the Champions League is nothing but incredible and a real shot in the arm for Scottish football when it was very much required. That being said I believe that the fear factor of going to places like Celtic Park has gone.”

Since taking over at St  Mirren Park in 2010, Danny Lennon has failed to manage a point or even a goal against his namesake’s side.

Earlier in the season Celtic strolled to a 5-0 away victory against the Paisley outfit and Lennon admits his side were taught a harsh lesson.

“We tried to go toe-to-toe with Celtic in the last game and were severely punished,” added the former Cowdenbeath manager.

“Until the first goal it could have gone either way, Celtic were on fire leading up to their game against Barcelona and we weren’t at the races – we are looking to put that right on Saturday.”

Despite only holding a six-point advantage over Dundee at the foot of the SPL, Lennon has set his sights on a top-half finish and feels the busy festive fixture list would be the ideal time for his side to produce a run to push them up the table.

“We haven’t had our run yet and this festive period would be the ideal time to do that,” Lennon added. “The league is so tight just now and it’s important we are in there amongst the pack, it would be nice to keep the momentum going and we will see where it takes us.”