Neil Lennon says that Celtic's league position will have no bearing on the approach towards Sunday's derby match at Celtic Park. Lennon has played in many of these games, of course, and as a boyhood Celtic fan he appreciates more than most just what these clashes are all about. "You don't want to lose any Old Firm game, regardless of what the points difference is." he said "At the end of the day, we just want to win."
Celtic approach this weekend's Glasgow derby on the back of a poor run of form having won only one SPL game so far this year but coach Neil Lennon is not too concerned with recent results "Our form isn't a cause for concern," he said. "At the end of the day, you live and die off your results but we've played well in some games and not won and played poorly and won. The last few games haven't been up to the standard we expect or require from the players so we'll get them in and have a chat and get them focused for Sunday."
Many of the players have been away on international duty this week and the club are hoping they all return fit and well and ready for the battle. Scott McDonald and Shunsuke Nakamura are both returning from Yokohama, where Japan and Australia battled out a 0-0 draw yesterday, and the coach hopes that they'll have benefitted from their time away despite the long haul involved. "Sometimes it can be a good thing for us," he said. "It's a change of scenery for them, it's easier for them it takes their mind off the intensity of what is happening here. We're just keeping our fingers crossed they come through unscathed and they come back with a spring in their step."
Lennon would love to be taking the field himself on Sunday but he'll settle for the next best thing and that is a place in the dugout helping the manager plot the destruction of the Huns "It's different because when you are playing you can control things and influence the game." said Neil "When you're a coach you have to keep an eye on everybody. It's the same though in that if you win, you feel great. But if you lose, you feel horrendous."