Neil Lennon

It's possible although most managers watch as much football as they can.

 

Lennon is also constantly busy with transfer business but won’t be rushed in to more signings.

He said: “It’s calm. There has been a lot of hard work going on and we are still looking to add to, and cull a bit, of the squad.

“We would like to get what we want as quickly as possible but it is not always as easy as that.

“The English window shutting earlier gives us a little bit more scope to bring players in as well.

“I am delighted with the three games we have had in the Champions League so far.

“You can’t ask any more and we have Hatem Abd Elhamed in there now who is another good addition.

“Whether we add to the squad or not we already have a really good core of players here, but some of them could do with a hand.

“When they see quality comes in, it gives them a huge lift as well.”

Playing that one a bit early .

 

KRISTOFFER AJER insists the odd searing blast of Neil Lennon’s hairdryer is welcome at Celtic.

The Hoops boss delivered some harsh words to his men at half-time in Wednesday’s Champions League win over Nomme Kalju.

Celtic were 3-0 up at that point but Ajer has no issue with Lennon demanding standards be met at all times.

He said: “That’s just football. I am used to that from every single team I have been in.


“This gaffer is no different — he gives you a clear message when you need it.

“It is healthy for a team to get a wake-up call sometimes.


At half-time, he spoke to us and it made us even better. You could see that from the first whistle of the second half.

“We were straight on it, so it was good for the team.


“We were 3-0 up when the gaffer spoke to us - but that’s what makes this club special. You can be three goals up, but still be unhappy with the performance.

“There were a few slack moments in the first half and we weren’t happy with that.

“The manager sent a clear message to us and we got better.

“He has put his mark down from day one of coming in.

“He won all the trophies that he could last season and we have had a great start this year.

“He has done fantastic but it’s still early days this year, so we need to keep working.”

 

ABILITY made the Celtic players treble Treble winners.

But Neil Lennon reckons their MENTALITY is what has set them apart from the rest of Scottish football.

The Hoops boss opened up on the pressure felt by the Celtic squad as they created history with a third clean sweep last season.

Lennon admits the scrutiny was suffocating, and knows this term’s nine in a row bid will be just as intense.



But the Parkhead boss is confident that his players can handle the heat as they try to continue their dominance in Scotland.

Lenny said: “Every time we were going into games last season, there was always the talk of treble Treble


Hibs away, ‘Oh this could be it, Lennon’s first game back at Easter Road in the Scottish Cup. Aberdeen in the semi-final. Rangers in the league — if you lose this, he could lose his job’.

“It was all that. Not just on me, but on the players as well.


We were on the cusp of history, they were going to do something that hadn’t been done before.

“In every press conference it was mentioned, and that’s understandable.

“But it can sort of wear away at you and your subconscious sometimes.

“However, they dealt with it all brilliantly and I’m sure this season will be no different.

The first priority is to get into the Champions League, which would be fantastic.

“It would be a great sort of foothold in the season and then the main priority is the championship, which is the same every season.”

Rangers are progressing well under Steven Gerrard and seem primed to give Celtic the toughest test yet in this period of dominance.

Yet Lennon insists that it’s far too early to judge either side of the Old Firm as they continue to reshape their squads for the season ahead.

The Celtic gaffer believes the likes of Aberdeen, Hearts and Hibs are also capable of mounting a challenge.

He said: “I don’t know if the league is tougher than when I managed Celtic the first time.

“Rangers were very strong in the first two seasons back then.

“Obviously people are saying they are stronger this year. Again, it’s too early to say.

“It’s also too early to say what shape we’re in at the minute, though we are going in the right direction.

“And you can’t write off any of the other teams.


On any given day they can take points off you if you are not at it, we’ve seen it many times.

“And they have good managers as well, who are shrewd and canny.

“People will say it’s a two-horse race but those other clubs will want to have a say in it as well. So I think the league will be competitive, as it always is.

“We just have to make sure we are at the top come the end of it.”

Lennon insists that he hasn’t lost any of his edge, with a half-time rant at the players in the midweek clash with Nomme Kalju proof of that.

But he believes he’s a more mature manager now and also appreciates the influence of assistants John Kennedy and Damien Duff.

He said: “I’ve different staff and I think they are good for me.

“John takes a lot on, Damien has got good energy.

They will take a lot off my shoulders, which is great. I’m more experienced too.

“I know I lose the rag every now and again.

“I did at half-time against Nomme Kalju, actually. You don’t lose that. But you evolve. I’m not saying I’m completely mellow but . . . I’m enjoying what I’m doing at the minute.”

Lennon will freshen up his side ahead of the Champions League return against Kalju in midweek.

The Celtic boss elected not to take a friendly this weekend but will give several fringe players a runout in Estonia.

He said: “We will look at the team. I’d like to give some players a rest if we can and it is certainly an opportunity to do that.

“I’d imagine that Christopher Jullien will probably play. He has a great chance of starting.

“It is an opportunity of getting a good 90 minutes into him to get him up and running.

“Lewis Morgan and Scott Sinclair, too, we will look at the squad.



We can’t overdo it but we have given ourselves a really strong platform.

“The reason we didn’t take a game this weekend was just the scheduling.

“You don’t know whether you are going to be home or away and it is just the logistics of it all. Sometimes I think we could maybe have done with at least one more game for some of the boys to get some minutes into their legs.

“But I think that we have given ourselves a really good platform for the second leg.”

Lennon is also constantly busy with transfer business but won’t be rushed in to more signings.


He said: “It’s calm. There has been a lot of hard work going on and we are still looking to add to, and cull a bit, of the squad.

“We would like to get what we want as quickly as possible but it is not always as easy as that.

“The English window shutting earlier gives us a little bit more scope to bring players in as well.

“I am delighted with the three games we have had in the Champions League so far.

“You can’t ask any more and we have Hatem Abd Elhamed in there now who is another good addition.



Whether we add to the squad or not we already have a really good core of players here, but some of them could do with a hand.

“When they see quality comes in, it gives them a huge lift as well.”

 

Good read that..

Several fringe player's getting a game in Estonia and resting other's is exactly what I wanted to hear as well..

 

NL: We are in a really strong position but it's a game we want to win. We'll look to change a few players but we are here to win the tie. The league starts on Saturday as well so we want to keep that momentum going

NL: "Jullien has been good, he's been patient. He's worked very hard and he's ready to play now. He will play tomorrow and he's looking forward to it.

NL: "It's a great position to be in. I couldn't have asked for any more. We're not taking the tie lightly, we've come with a great squad and we'll play to win

NL: "Christie has had a great couple of games. I thought he was fantastic in his all round game and is weighing in with goals now. Getting goals from attacking midfield is something we're looking to improve on as the season goes on."

NL: "We're here to compete and to win, I don't think the scoreline flattered us, we played vert well. But going away form home in the #UCL, these are difficult ties and we'll prepare the team as best as we can

 

NL: "There certainly wasn’t any complacency tonight, we started very well and got a good goal early on which really set the tone for the rest of the game

NL: "We had good control over the course of the game, we scored another great goal towards the end, I thought we could have had a few more, but I can’t ask any more than what the players are giving me at the minute."

NL on
@Chri6ViF
: "I thought Jullien was excellent, I thought he partnered well with
@SimunovicJozo
, he showed his experience and he showed he can be a threat at set-pieces. He was very dominant in the air and confident on the ball

NL on Shved: "You could see what the goal meant to him from a personal point of view. You have to remember how young he is, and it’ll take him some time to settle into a new culture. That goal is a great start to his Celtic career.

NL on CFR Cluj: "Cluj are experienced at this level, they have an experienced manager. Going into the tie, we should be in good spirits, however we’ve got the domestic campaign to kick off as well.

 

Neil Lennon insists Celtic will be ready for the step up in class against Cluj next week after admitting there is plenty more to come from his troops.

The Hoops boss watched his side complete a 7-0 aggregate romp over Estonians Nomme Kalju following a 2-0 victory in the A Le Coq Arena in Tallinn.

An early own goal from Aleksandr Kulinits and injury time strike from substitute debut man Marian Shved earned the win to set up a a Champions League third qualifying round tie with Cluj.

The Romanians have reached the Champions League group stage three times in their history and are managed by former Chelsea star Dan Petrescu.

But Lennon declared himself happy with his side and says they’re ready to move up a gear as they prepare for the same stage they were eliminated by AEK Athens last season.

The Irishman said: “We’ve won 5-2 over Sarajevo and now 7-0. I don’t think the players can give me any more - they have been absolutely excellent - and there’s more to come from them.

We have negotiated this qualifying round brilliantly so we are in a good place at the minute but as you go along in the qualifying campaign the quality does get stronger.

Cluj are a very experienced side with an experienced manager but we’ll cross that bridge when it comes. We’ve had them watched in both ties so we will be well prepared for next week.

“We had a very tough tie against Sarajevo in the opening tie and we negotiated that very well and we are two or three weeks fitter down the line.


We’re still not where we really want to be in terms of match fitness and match sharpness but we’re in a good place and we look at threat and that’s very pleasing.

"Winning tonight keeps the momentum going into the domestic campaign on Saturday.”

Lennon handed a competitive debut to £7million French defender Christopher Jullien with Shved coming off the bench and the Hoops boss was happy with the pair along with others.

He said: “I was very pleased for Christopher. It was important he got 90 minutes because he is not going to play at the weekend and I was delighted with him, I thought he was outstanding.



I was pleased with Bolingoli. I thought he had a great game, he looked more assured, more powerful, stronger, like the player we thought we had.

“I was delighted with Ntcham who I thought he was outstanding. And then Marian comes on. He’s had a little bit of a frustrating time with the groin injury but he got a good 25 minutes under his belt and obviously took a lot of confidence from the first chance, which he probably should have scored, and then scoring a great goal to wrap up the tie.

“You could see what the goal meant to him you have to remember he’s still only 22 and coming into a new culture. I was very pleased and that will give him a huge shot in the arm confidence wise.

“I am very happy with the scoreline and the performance and with the scoreline over the two legs.”

 

Neil Lennon is still the 2nd best Celtic manager behind WGS in my time. Was gutted when both left. Perfect man to do 10!

We will get it!!!!

 

You are a troll.

 

I'm a fan of Neil Lennon! He needs full backing from our support more than ever Minty!

 

I’m a fan of Lennon, too, and I’ll back him as our manager every day. But to put either Lennon or Strachan ahead of MON, or Rodgers, doesn’t have the evidence to back it up, and I can only conclude you’re at the wind up.

You said Ntcham isn’t a winner in another thread too, which is a bizarre statement if you’re not trolling.

 

The evidence is clear Minty. The Champions League Runs on tight budgets!

WGS has the best League title victories also. Rogers beat absolutely nobody, failed in Europe and departed in the middle of a season where Rangers were closing a gap. Terrible signings as well!
MON was great but won 3 out of 5 and never progressed in Europe like WGS and NL.

 

Rodgers gave us an invincible season, that’s miles ahead of anything Strachan did. Strachan had plenty of backing over his time here, in the transfer market. Yeah, Rodgers departed and is a bawbag, but it had nothing to do with a gap closing.
Every manager has had terrible signings.
MON never progressed in Europe. You can’t be serious.

 

Mon never made it out the group stages of the CL with Larsson in his team!!!

Minty, you and I could have won those leagues Rodgers won. Ronnie did!!

WGS's record buy was Scott Brown! He halved the wage budget in 2 and that is a quote from the very man, won 3 out of 4 leagues against a strong Rangers side and took us to the last 16 of the CL twice! Can you see any manager achieving that again in our lives???

NL learned loads off WGS and I believe in him!

 

Are we just going to ignore the UEFA Cup final then, aye?

Lol, no we couldn’t. We’re not football managers and despite how easy some people think managing Celtic is, we wouldn’t have a clue.

Deila is a good coach and manager, just wasn’t the right fit for us, in the end.

I can’t see us reaching the last 16 two years in a row any time soon, but that’s got more to do with how football’s money and transfer market has exploded, rather than the ability of our managers. There’s a lot less parity in the game at the elite level, now.

 

"Rodgers beat absolutely nobody"


Some laugh

 

Dont look back, look forward, after all we can only play what lies in front of us and right now NL is manager and is his own man, he will create his own history