There will be unwanted downtime this week for Celtic as a full appreciation of their Europa League defeat to Copenhagen sinks in.
Neil Lennon would have been in the happier position of
sustaining the midweek rhythm of domestic and European
football but appreciates now that it is all about what
happens on home soil.
And on that front the
garden is still looking rosy. The Parkhead side have a full week to prepare for next weekend’s game against Rangers at Ibrox and with the League Cup
already banked, a Scottish Cup semi-final booked and a lead that looks fairly unassailable in the league, the coming weeks are all about delivering a
quadruple treble. As such, Lennon is looking for his players to up the ante now as their flex their domestic muscle.
“I want to go full throttle,” he said. “I want to win the league and the cup. We’ve still got so much to play for. You need your important players to do that and they’re all important players.
“The players are very single-minded and that’s how we always want them to be. Complacency can be your enemy sometimes. They’ve been well warned about that. They train well and are preparing themselves right. Their mentality sets them apart from others but also their ability and relentlessness. The core group is fantastic and they’re very special. Long may it continue.”
This week will open up the possibility of some forward planning as Lennon starts his preparations for next
season, although it is with
some reluctance that he takes his eye off the European scene.
“Sometimes you can be in a match rhythm of three games in a week and it can be a bit disruptive,” he said. “If there’s any consolation of not being in Europe it’s that the players get a bit more rest.
“It’s been a heavy schedule. But I was bitterly disappointed to go out of Europe. We felt we could have made a decent fist of it. But we’ve bounced back quite well.
“The free week gives me a chance as well to maybe
occupy my time with something else. It’ll let me do a little bit of
forward planning.
“February was very hectic. But now we’re leading into the Rangers game and I want to get the build-up the best we can. You can plan better and rest better with no game.”
Key players for Celtic in recent seasons such as Callum McGregor and James Forrest have consistently played in excess of 60 games. Scott Brown has been an ever-present, too, in the middle of the park but Lennon has no fears at this stage of about burn-out kicking in.
The scheduling of this season’s Scottish Cup final to accommodate the European Championships matches at Hampden means that the final is played two weeks before the last league game of the season so, theoretically, if Lennon is successful in getting beyond Aberdeen next month then he could give some players a decent break and prolong their summer.
“I’m not really worried about them,” he said. “They’re showing no signs of their batteries running out at the moment, that’s for sure.”
One rarely seen member of Lennon’s squad is Boli Bolingoli – who last appeared in the Scottish Cup tie against Clyde but has not featured since.
The full-back is fit and available but has been overlooked for selection but Lennon has insisted that he still has a future at the club.
“He is in and around it but the team is playing well so it’s been difficult for him to break back through,” he said. “He’s still in my thoughts for between now and the end of the season.”
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