Lennon hopes Celtic's trip to Tannadice will be less chaotic

Neil LENNON is not expecting Tannadice to provide the same type of furore which arose when Celtic played Dundee United there in October.

A controversial penalty decision in the 2-1 win for the Hoops sparked a train of events which had Scottish football in some chaos.

Referee Dougie McDonald awarded a penalty to Celtic at 1-1 before changing the award after speaking to linesman Steven Craven. The referee later admitted telling lies to Lennon about the circumstances surrounding his U-turn and Craven controversially quit in the immediate aftermath.

McDonald was reprimanded by the Scottish Football Association, though it ruled that his decision was correct, before he took the decision to retire.

The following month, category one referees in Scotland took strike action in order to draw attention to what they perceived to be constant and excessive criticism.

While the peace has been uneasy since, all eyes will be on Mike Tumilty, who will be in charge at Tannadice tomorrow.

"It's up to the officials," Celtic boss Lennon said. "I don't think it will be as controversial as the last game, I'm sure, but I hope the result is the same."

The Irishman is aware that the controversy from that infamous game might be seen as adding extra spice to the game.

"People can make those assumptions but it's a different game and different time of the season," he said. "We will have our objectives and will be trying to win the game but we know it won't be easy.

"I watched them against Hibs a couple of weeks ago and they played very well. There is a cohesion about them and they did very well in the cup against Hamilton last week.

"But, the form we are showing, we should relish it."

Another interesting subtext to the game is the fact that Lennon and United boss Peter Houston have had a series of sideswipes at each other dating back to last season.

The former Celtic boss described his relationship with the Scotland assistant only as "professional" while praising his abilities.

"I think he is a good manager and did very well when Craig Levein left, he won a trophy and they have started to show signs of that form this season," Lennon said. "A few of their better players are back and they are unbeaten in 11 games and it is always a difficult game."