Neil Lennon

I am actually looking forward to see how Neil has us play against PSG in theory we should have a better showing than how we did under Rodgers


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I understand what your saying but if it was me I’d use the game as a bench mark as way to gauge what we can do against improved opposition but too early in ore season though


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NEIL LENNON insists his Celtic kids will learn from their tough French lesson.

Youngsters Scott Robertson, Stephen Welsh, Ewan Henderson and Karamoke Dembele all started in Lyon.


They couldn’t stop ex-Hoops hitman Moussa Dembele and Memphis Depay scoring.

Celts sub Mohamed Elyounoussi netted a late consolation strike.


But Lennon was more delighted with the displays from his rookies after pitching them into the deep end.

He said: “I don’t think the younger players will have come up against opposition as good as that before so I think it’s great for them.



I’m pretty pleased with how they did against players of that level and with their contributions.

“Dembele showed flashes, which was great. It was a mixture of teams and physically it was an examination because these guys have not played football for five months.


Then the boys who came on for the last half hour played very well and scored a very good goal.”

Ex-Celtic star Dembele scored after just four minutes to give Lyon an early lead.

Former Manchester United attacker Memphis Depay then made it 2-0 five minutes before half-time.

Lennon changed his entire line-up after an hour.




And Elyounoussi grabbed a late goal to give the handful of Celts supporters inside the Groupama Stadium something to cheer about.

But Lennon is satisfied with the back to back performances against Nice and Lyon.


He added: “Against Nice on Thursday I was really impressed. And against Lyon when the senior boys came on it was very good again.

“There was a real zest about them when they came on, which you would expect.

“But I was really pleased with a lot of aspects of our game. Boli Bolingoli had another decent performance and Patryk Klimala was a handful at times as well.

“‘We knew it would be a bit of a hotch-potch when we were playing two different teams.

“I didn’t expect Lyon to play their first eleven but that didn't matter. It was a great test for us all and hopefully it will help us going forward.”


Lennon, meanwhile, has received winger Mikey Johnston could require surgery.

He hasn’t travelled to France for the pre-season matches and is scheduled to see a specialist to assess his latest injury.

Lennon added: “He’s got an injury and he’s back home. Mikey has been having problems with his calves and he needs to see a specialist.

“He’s not had much luck. It’s been a bit stop-start but with his age and going through the maturation process he’s picking up injuries. It’s frustrating for him and frustrating for us.

“Bayo has an injury too and he is getting treatment.


“And Tom Rogic rolled his ankle towards the last day in Loughborough but he should be back for Tuesday.

“Hatem Elhamed took a sore one tonight but he is alright. He was struggling a little and he rolled his ankle but he should be okay.”

 

NEIL LENNON has admitted every Celtic player is up for sale at the right price.

Lenny has warned Hoops fans they could see star names being sold this summer if big bids are tabled.


Hotshot Odsonne Edouard is being tracked by a list of top clubs in the UK and abroad, while Kristoffer Ajer is wanted by Italian giants AC Milan.

As yet Celts have received no offers for any of their players.

And Hoops fans are desperate to see the club keep hold of their star men for the tilt at ten in a row.

But Lennon warned: “It is difficult to say, particularly in this climate currently, that a player is not going anywhere, because everyone has a price.


Ideally we don’t want to sell our best players and we will remain steadfast on that.

“But if an offer comes in then I’m sure the club will consider it and do the best thing possible for the club going forward.


But it’s not just hard for me, it’s hard for all managers right now.

“It will be interesting to see how the market opens up.

“You just don’t know. The English Premier League is not finished yet but when they do they will be starting to look around.

“It might speed up before the new season starts but at the minute we have had no enquiries for any of our players. Nothing at all.”


Milan are in the market for a new centre-back and Norwegian Ajer is on their wish list.

But Lennon added: “There’s absolutely nothing in that at all. Nothing.

“He’s got a couple of years left on his contract and I want him here and the club wants him here.”


Lennon is still pushing ahead with his own plans to sign fresh talent.

A first-choice goalkeeper to compete with Scott Bain is his priority with the new season kicking off in just 11 days.


But asked if his budget had been altered by the drop in revenue caused by the Covid-19 crisis, he laughed and then joked: “What budget?

“Listen, I’ve had no indication from Peter that the climate has changed. It’s business as usual as far as I am concerned.

“But I’m not close to anything just now.

“I’m spinning a few plates but there’s nothing concrete at the moment.


There are a couple of positions that we are looking to strengthen.

“Goalkeeper is one of them and we are working on a number of options. Hopefully there may be something this week.

“We are working on a number of options for other positions, too.”

 

Some * nicked the warchest

 

Oh, no! Not the £20 Lawell keeps behind the shelf for emergencies!

 

Dirt rags are spinning it that due to covid 19 we need to sell because Lenny said evey player has a price. The thing is every player does, at every club but the * just want to make out we are potless and ignored Lenny saying "it's business as usual"

 

Anyone else worried this is Lennon's sly way of telling us PL has told him to go for 10 with the same squad with no real money being spent....

 

Not sure what to think of this tbh.

As @Westlondonscot says, technically every player does have a price, so it's not groundbreaking news here.

I've not even thought about losing players as I'm so concerned about us getting a couple of players in the door! Will be a weird one with the window being later.

 

There's more chat of us losing players or trying to keep hold than there is of us bringing players in.

We won't get a second shot at this. One of the most important seasons in clubs history.

Mess this up and can guarantee you there won't be a waiting list for Season tickets next year.

 

Hun Rags trying to make something of a non story.

 

Just an honest assessment of the climate and market just now.

 

Imagine us starting last season with our current squad. I'm pretty confident Elyounoussi, a settled Jullien, Taylor, Frimpong and Forster would have had us in the champions league this season. We don't have Forster but I'm confident we can get a decent keeper in. Keeping the squad together is definitely more important than anything, we had a quality team as seen against Lazio and Rennes.

 

This season coming is going to put enormous strain on the squad. Our international level players will play 40+ games between now and new year and there is no winter break to recharge the batteries. Our first team is strong but we are thin on the ground in a few positions for what lies ahead imo. We def need reinforcements and I wouldn't be against using the LC to play the team that started the game against Lyon for example.

 

This has been the case for most of the past decade though. We’re in the business of signing players, developing them, and then selling them on for more. The fact that there’s more rumours about players leaving tells me that we’re successful in that model and successful on the pitch.

The main guy I want to keep is Edourd. The other guys getting linked with moves - Ntcham, Rogic, Ajer - all good players but all replaceable. I’m fairly confident still that we’ll make the necessary additions this window.

 

5 sub rule will help us though, any game we go like 2-0 up we can make a couple of subs. We should find ourselves in a position to sub off 3 top players on the hour mark or even before most domestic games.

 

I would really like to keep Ajer but I'm actually starting to worry about eyes noticing Jullien is much more than a £7m player. I think he'd actually put up a fight to stay though. The long window is creating a strange situation. Though our deadline for a quality keeper is next week.

 

Neil Lennon saluted his Celts for keeping their cool against wind-up merchant Neymar .

The Hoops finished off their French trip with defeat in the Parc des Princes and the Brazilian striker was at his brilliant best and infuriating worst. Lenny insisted his side held their own for long spells and was just as delighted at how they refused to fall for Neymar’s dirty tricks.


The Parkhead boss, who revealed Scott Brown wasn’t risked due to a slight injury, said: “He was just trying to wind people up. I said to the players you just have to keep your discipline and not take the bait really.

“He is infuriating but he knows it.


I’m a big fan of Kylian Mbappe because I think he’s fantastic in terms of his purpose and his pace. They’ve got quality all over the pitch.

Celtic were a goal down in 55 seconds but enjoyed spells on the ball and the scoreline was harsh.

Lennon insisted it was a perfect workout for his troops as they gear up for the Champions League qualifiers and the Premiership kick-off.


He said: “After a minute you’re thinking ‘oh dear’!

“Once we found our level we were decent and I thought we deserved a goal at that stage.

“That quality is world class. I’m pleased we’ve taken it on. I don’t think we need to be down about it.


Sometimes the players need to see the game at that level for what it is, and how far you have to strive to get there. Hopefully they can take a lot from it physically and mentally.

“I was delighted with Jeremie Frimpong, I thought he was outstanding. I was delighted with Ryan Christie. Some of our players really showed up and can be really pleased.

“They made the most of the opportunity.”

Lennon is hoping to line up Dundalk or Derry City at Celtic Park this weekend if the Irish government agree an air bridge with Scotland.

The champions will also face Motherwell on Sunday and Lennon wants his men to get used to home comforts again.

He said: “They are not there yet in terms of full fitness. Most of them haven’t played 90 minutes before the PSG game.

“Normally you’d have five or six games by this stage but we’ve had three. We’ll give some game time on Saturday and some others on Sunday.

“It’s difficult but the club have done everything they can in the circumstances.

“It will be important to play at Celtic Park because we’ve been away for so long. We’ve not played there since March. You want them to get a feel for playing there behind closed doors.”


Skipper Brown could be back as his injury absence last night was not serious.

Lennon said: “Scott has maybe a little trapped nerve, it’s tracking his back and hamstring. There was no point taking a risk.”


The Hoops gaffer will also assess Leigh Griffiths on his return to Glasgow but he insisted he’s not thinking of punting the hitman out on loan to get back up to speed.

Lennon said: “I’m not even considering that at the minute. He’s been coming on but we’ll assess him when we get back.”