Embattled Celtic defence to remain in the firing line

MAKING a case for Celtic’s defence is not easy for Neil Lennon at the moment, so he was unsurprisingly grateful to learn they will not be cross- examined by Antonio Di Natale tonight.

The absence of the 33-year-old striker, top scorer in Serie A for each of the last two seasons, from Udinese’s squad for the Europa League Group I fixture at Parkhead is unquestionably a boost to Lennon’s hopes of achieving the win which would re-ignite his side’s hopes of reaching the knockout phase of the tournament.

The defensive frailties of his team have been well documented in recent weeks, from the headed goals gifted in defeat to Atletico Madrid and Rangers to the incompetence of centre-half pairing Glenn Loovens and Daniel Majstorovic which went unpunished in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

The Celtic manager was deliberately coy yesterday when quizzed about his back four selection against a Udinese side who currently share the summit of Serie A with Juventus after an unbeaten start to their domestic season.

Lennon did not rule out sticking with Loovens and Majstorovic at the heart of his defence, echoing his assistant Johan Mjallby’s view that the duo are experienced enough to perform far more effectively than they did at the weekend.

Charlie Mulgrew’s availability, having missed out against Inverness through suspension, provides Lennon with an alternative.

But, while he confirmed he sees centre half as Mulgrew’s best position, he must consider him for the left-back role tonight as recent Moroccan loan signing Badr El Kadourri is cup-tied.

“Charlie will be playing, but I’m not sure what position,” said Lennon.

“Centre half is his best position, he’s playing brilliantly at the minute with great composure and big improvement in his game. We’re very happy with him.

“I’m not going to comment on whether I’ll stick with the same two centre halves we played on Saturday. I’ve got a mind to do that, but I might not.

“It wasn’t great at times on Saturday but I think after half-time they gathered themselves a lot better. They just made a nervy start to the game. They are two experienced centre halves and they should have coped better with what they were up against.

“But I don’t want to make a big hoo-ha about it. We haven’t dwelt on it too much. We haven’t had a settled back four this season, that’s been part of the problem.

“We have two full-backs (Cha Du Ri and Emilio Izaguirre) out injured long term, we have had a couple of suspensions and injuries here and there and we now also have Kelvin Wilson out for a while.

“We’ll have to change the defence again against Udinese because Badr is ineligible.

“If we can get a settled back four, then I think we will see more consistent performances. I have a fair idea what my best back four is if everyone is fit.”

The decision of Udinese coach Francesco Guidolin to regard Sunday’s Serie A match at home to Bologna as more important than the trip to Celtic Park simply echoes Lennon’s own mantra this season that the domestic championship is his number one priority.

He is likely to shuffle his own squad over the next four days as he keeps Sunday’s trip to face Hearts at Tynecastle on SPL business in mind.

But, as content as he is not to be facing Di Natale tonight, Lennon remains wary of the threat Udinese will possess.

“I’m pleased Di Natale has stayed at home,” said Lennon, “because he has been in brilliant form and is a brilliant striker. But you prepare for the game as if he is going to play, so we can’t over analyse it too much. We have to focus on our own game.

“It is Udinese’s prerogative to put the league first. The coach picks a team which best suits his club. If they come with a so-called weaker team, I’m sure it will still be packed full of high-quality players.

“We have watched them quite a bit and they are an excellent side. They have been very consistent in Serie A over the last 18 months. They play a different formation to what we are used to, they play three at the back with five in midfield and then one off the main striker.

“They counter-attack brilliantly and we have to be very, very aware of it. They are very well organised at the back. But we are at home so the onus is on us to try and take the game to them. That’s what we will try and do.

“Obviously I have an eye on our game on Sunday as well. We don’t want a repeat of what happened to us after losing our first game in the group 2-0 in Madrid, then coming back to lose to Rangers on the Sunday.

“We have to try to prepare the players as best we can between the games and give them as much rest and recovery as possible. But, in terms of the Europa League group, this is a game we have to win. We will look at both games as they come, on their merits.

“We will pick a team to try to beat Udinese and then a team to try to beat Hearts. The personnel might change, but not greatly.”