Neil Lennon determined to erase painful Paisley pattern

EIGHT months ago, Celtic and their supporters experienced a watershed moment at the venue they will revisit for the first time since tomorrow.

Their 4-0 reverse at St Mirren Park in March not only signalled the end of Tony Mowbray's managerial tenure but effectively condemned the Celtic careers of many of the players who took part in one of the most humiliating defeats in the club's recent history.

Of the 13 players who were part of the action for Celtic that fateful evening, only midfielder Ki Sung Yeung and striker Georgios Samaras are likely to be in the starting line-up Neil Lennon will send out in Paisley this weekend.

Since replacing Mowbray, initially on an interim basis in the immediate aftermath of the St Mirren loss, Lennon has reshaped the Celtic squad almost beyond recognition with the 12 new signings he has recruited.

But while the personnel has changed radically, Lennon remains acutely aware of the relevance of recent history at a stadium which he readily recalls was also the scene of some despair for Gordon Strachan in his final campaign in charge.

"Our last visit there was obviously an infamous one," said Lennon, "and we were knocked out of the Scottish Cup there the previous season. So it is a difficult ground for us to go to.

"There's not many who played that night last season who are still here, but if any of them are playing on Sunday, then it's a great incentive to put that night out of their memory banks and put right what went wrong."

One of those involved in Mowbray's demise, Greek international Samaras, insists he has already succeeded in banishing it from his thoughts. "I don't have any memories of that night," he said.

"It is a blackout in my mind, I can't remember anything. It was a bad moment, but I don't blame anyone. I don't blame the players or the manager.

"Most of the other players don't know the history of it. Who cares what happened last season? We cannot compare the situation now with what happened last year. This is a different team with a new manager and we are looking forward to getting back to winning games."

Following last Saturday's 9-0 demolition of Aberdeen, the 2-0 defeat at Hearts on Wednesday was something of a jolt for Celtic. "Going forward, it was our most low key performance of the season," observed Lennon. "Some of the players didn't do themselves justice. However, there were patches of the game that did please me. We'll talk to the players about it and move on.

"There were a lot of surprise results on Wednesday night. St Mirren won up at Tannadice and that will have given them a huge shot in the arm.But I think we'll be pretty self-motivated to turn on a decent performance on Sunday."

Lennon has Norwegian defender Thomas Rogne available again following a one-match suspension but, despite Wednesday's loss, will consider retaining the partnership of Jos Hooiveld and Daniel Majstorovic at the back. Efrain Juarez is likely to deputise in midfield for the suspended Joe Ledley, although Lennon revealed he is also considering the claims of Irish youngster Richie Towell.