Neil Lennon Addresses Right Back Issue

NEIL LENNON has addressed the elephant in the room on Friday afternoon as he took questions ahead of Celtic’s friendly against Rennes on Saturday afternoon.

The Irishman brings his side back to Celtic Park for the first time in over five years as permanent Celtic manager and he’s looking forward to a competitive game where he will field some players who need the game time.

One thing the Celtic manager won’t have going into tomorrow is a first choice right back. Celtic have tried and failed to bring in a replacement for Mikael Lustig so far this summer. Considering it’s a position Celtic have needed to address for some time it perplexes many fans how the club have not managed to identify and secure a target.

Jack Stacey and Tommy Smith were both reported targets but both are staying put in England. For Neil Lennon now, it’s a patient waiting game.

The Celtic manager does make a good point in that many clubs who have just come back are now assessing their squad before they decide to sell. That’s little comfort to Celtic who will likely go into the next qualifier with Ajer at right back again. Not that the Norweigan had a bad game in Sarajevo, we’d rather see him at centre back.

Speaking to Celtic TV today Lennon said: “We are trying to get it down to the quality of player we want, and does he fit our profile with age and the attributes we want from a full-back.

“They are difficult to find because we have been looking for a while. Ideally, we would like to bring two in. It’s a slow process.

“It’s still very early. A lot of teams are just back and weighing up their squads. It’s not as if you can do all your business right away. We need to have patience.

“We have done good business so far, we will make additions and maybe see some players go the other way, but that’s a process that takes time. I think there is a bit of trimming to do.”