CELTIC MANAGER Neil Lennon predicts that the Scottish Premiership match in West Lothian on Wednesday night between Livingston and the league leaders will not be an encounter for the faint hearted.
Lennon is well aware of the problems that Livingston caused Celtic in his side’s first visit to the Tony Macaroni Arena back on 6 October. Ryan Christie’s early bath didn’t help, nor probably did the formation and Christopher Jullien had probably his strangest afternoon in a Celtic jersey that day, getting a little too emotional when things weren’t going his way.
So for Christie and Jullien and most importantly the manager himself, Wednesday night is an opportunity to put right the wrong.
All credit to Livingston who scored a couple of good goals and were well worthy of their win. Their home form this season has been excellent and they are more concerned with a top six finish rather than having any concerns about being dragged into a relegation battle. It’s safe to say that Livingston’s Premiership status is all but assured.
And if Celtic can pick up the three points on Wednesday and follow this up with a home win on Saturday against St Mirren then that sets Celtic up nicely for a trip to Ibrox eight days after the St Mirren game. That kind of break is unusual to say the least for the Celtic players and this will allow Neil Lennon to ensure that the team is as well prepared as possible for what would practically be a league winning Beautiful Sunday if we can win there on the back of beating both Livingston and St Mirren.
After the Rangers game on Sunday 15 March we welcome St Johnstone to Celtic Park on Saturday 21 March before heading through to Edinburgh to play Hibs at Easter Road now on Sunday 5 April with a 12 noon kick-off then we go into the split.
📆 Fixture amendment 📆
🆚 @HibernianFC
🏆 @spfl
📌 Easter Road
🗓️ 05/04/20
⌚️ 12 noon pic.twitter.com/bAD1hw32sw— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) March 2, 2020
Neil Lennon wasn’t looking that far ahead or indeed even further. When he was asked about going fo ten-in-a-row he said that that kind of talk was “very premature” and that he’s “like to get nine” first. Which is fair enough.
With a 12 point advantage with only ten games to go, Lennon knows that wins against Livingston and St Mirren means that he’ll take a rested-up Celtic side to Ibrox with AT LEAST a twelve point advantage with only eight games remaining. Tantalisingly close, so it is.
Three points at the Tony Macaroni are essential though and that’s Lennon’s priority.
“Nothing about this group of players surprises me but I’m absolutely delighted with the way we’re playing and the wins we’ve racked up,” he said to the Media, as reported by Kheredine Idessane at BBC Scotland.
“I just want more of the same now as we go along. The focus has been good, the quality of football has been good and we’re scoring a lot of goals.”
Next Lenny was asked if losing in the Scottish Cup to either Aberdeen in the semi-final or one of the Edinburgh sides in the final would mean that there was no ‘quadruple treble’ – would this be regarded as a failure?
🗣️ 'That's an awful question' pic.twitter.com/7Zb6tLPvpy
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) March 2, 2020
“That’s an awful question,” Lenny replied. “I don’t know who would deem that a failure. My remit is to carry on the good work that was left behind by Brendan and so far, so good.
“So, if some people deem it a failure if we don’t succeed in that aspect then I accept that but it’s a strange question.”
Lennon is prepared for the battle that will be fought in the plastic pitch in West Lothian on Wednesday night. This time he wants his players to emerge victorious.
“We’re under no illusions how difficult the game is going to be, it’ll be a very tough game and not for the faint hearted. They’re a big strong team and their home form is excellent.
“I want to keep being exceptional – I think they can get better as a group and I don’t want them to rest on their laurels.”
Here’s a reminder of the action from the 2-0 defeat to Livingston back in October.
From @CelticFC manager Neil Lennon : it’s all about the 9️⃣ ; any chat about 🔟 is ‘very premature’ https://t.co/s4N9be2P9A
— @Kheredine (@Kheredine2018) March 2, 2020
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