Neil Lennon spoke to CelticTV before their game with Kalju on Tuesday evening.
The Irishman was obviously in a positive mood ahead of the tie considering the scoreline but he was taking nothing for granted. Here are some topics the gaffer touched upon during his conference.
Changes
“The league campaign starts on Saturday and we want to keep that momentum going with a win here”
“We’re going to change it up a little bit, Christopher Jullien will start tomorrow.”
“He’s been good, he’s been patient, he’s ready to play now and I think he’s looking forward to it
“McGregor and Forrest haven’t travelled, they’ve obviously played a lot of football over the last 12-18 months. It’s a good opportunity to give them a little bit of a rest.”
Injuries
“Shved is back in the squad, Bayo and Kouassi are still a little bit short and have stayed behind.”
“Some of the guys are hungry and need to play. We obviously want to win the best we can”
Ryan Christie
“He has had a great couple of games, he’s weighing in with goals now, that’s an important position for us.”
Celtic are expected to win comfortably again but it’s a real chance for some fringe players to give the manager food for thought for the coming weeks. Shved could get some game and make his competitive debut along with Jullien if he’s chosen.
Morgan came on last week and was underwhelming so he’ll want to do better this time around.
Keeping McGregor and Forrest at home is a good call by the manager. They will be resh for the St Johnstone tie and with Ntcham fit again, he can slot right into the starting XI.
There will be more than a few eyes on the game over in Israel tonight. Cluj or Maccabi Tel-Aviv will take on Celtic in the next round with Cluj winning 1-0 from the first leg.
