NEIL LENNON has praised his Celtic players for remaining calm in the face of some physical treatment from their opponents as they beat FK Sarajevo to progress to the second round of Champions League qualifying.
Celtic swept through to the next round by five goals to two on aggregate after goals from Ryan Christie and Callum McGregor either side of a Benjamin Tatar leveller for the visitors saw Lennon’s men progress.
There were times on the night though that the match threatened to boil over, with Sarajevo shown five yellow cards as they targeted Celtic’s main men with some roughhouse treatment, and Lennon was relieved that his players not only avoided injury, but avoided any potential suspensions by refusing to rise to the bait.
“They were a bit agricultural to say the least,” Lennon said. “At least one of them warranted a red card. “At this level, referees sometimes see the game a little bit differently to us. That’s what I’ve learned. You’re better off saying nothing and letting it be.
“The last thing you want at this stage is any long-term injuries or any kind of injury. There will be a few bumps and bruises tomorrow but hopefully nothing significant. We should also have Mikey (Johnston) back for the second round hopefully as well as maybe (Marian)Shved and (Vakoun Issouf) Bayo.
“It was really important [the players remained calm] because discipline is a big factor and we don’t want to lose anyone for the upcoming games. We know how difficult, fraught and tense these qualifiers are but the experience some of the players have got will hopefully stand them in good stead going forward.”
READ MORE: Celtic 2 Sarajevo 1: Five things we learned from Celtic's victory
Lennon was similarly delighted with the overall level shown by his men over the two legs of the tie, coming as it did so early in their season.
“I’m really pleased with the level of performance so far,” he said. “It’s not perfect by any means - I get that - but for where we are it’s excellent. That’s a 5-2 win over two legs and that’s very good.
“I’m delighted. It was an excellent performance against a very good side so early in the competition.
“You could see they were a week fitter as we were. I thought we played excellently, especially in the first half.
“My only bugbear was conceding the goal when we were in total control of the game and the tie. But Callum came up with a brilliant goal to win the game.
“He was outstanding again along with Scott Brown in midfield. I’m absolutely delighted with what the players are giving me at the minute.
“That was a tough tie to negotiate so I’m very, very pleased.”
Celtic will now face Estonian side Nomme Kalju in the second round of qualifying after they shocked Macedonian outfit Shkendija on Tuesday night, and Lennon is heartened going into the first leg of that tie next Wednesday night at Celtic Park by the knowledge that there is a lot more still to come from his side.
“We were in good control after the first leg and Sarajevo were coming out with nothing to lose,” he said.
“We handled that very well with a pretty makeshift back four. I was delighted with the attacking verve and intent we played with.
“We are a week fitter now, we will be a week fitter again going into the second qualifying round. Guys like Leigh Griffiths, Christopher Jullien and Scott Sinclair can be more up to speed.”
Meanwhile, Lennon confirmed another arrival may be imminent to bolster his squad.
“I think we’ll have something in the next few days hopefully," he said.
“It might be a right-back, it might be a left-winger, it might be a centre-forward.
“Right-back is a priority, but we have a number of positions I’d like to strengthen like midfield and one or two attacking areas.
“You don’t want to overcook it either, but we want to add to the quality in the squad that we already have.
“The boys are doing a brilliant job at the minute, but they could do with a little bit of help in terms of strength in depth."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here