csconstantine.com

{ CELTIC midfielder Beram Kayal believes his club are poised for a lengthy spell of domestic dominance if Neil Lennon's longer term future as manager is secured.Lennon is out of contract this summer with the offer of a new deal understood to be dependent on Celtic winning the Scottish Premier League title this season.

Sunday's 3-0 defeat of Rangers at Celtic Park left Lennon's team eight points clear of the defending champions, who have two games in hand, and has seen their odds on lifting the trophy shorten to as little as 1-3 with some bookmakers.

Kayal, one of a raft of new signings Lennon has gradually moulded into an effective unit over the course of the campaign, has no doubt the manager has already proved himself worthy of an extended tenure.

The 22-year-old Israeli international has emerged as a key performer in a squad he says are committed to bringing sustained success to Celtic over the next few seasons.

"The manager has made this team and it's fantastic," said Kayal.

"Sometimes people forget this is a new team, we have brought in 13 or 14 new players this season. But the team has gelled together very quickly and I think it is because of the manager.

"We are a very young team and if you look at us, then we could be playing together at Celtic for the next three or four years. The manager has built it, so hopefully it's the same for him.

"We have good young players and a good manager. He makes us all feel special, and we all try 100 per cent for him. Together we could have good success. I am learning from him every day in training and all the players feel the same. We have a lot of talent but the manager pushes us
every day and that's why we are a strong team."

Celtic stretched their current unbeaten run to 17 matches on Sunday, 12 of them victories, and remain in pursuit of all three domestic trophies.

They face Rangers in the Scottish Cup fifth-round replay at Celtic Park next Wednesday and will take on their great rivals again in the Co-operative Insurance Cup final at Hamdpen on 20 March.

The form of several of Lennon's recruits during the undefeated sequence, including Kayal, Honduran left-back Emilio Izaguirre and striker Gary Hooper, has attracted growing attention from English Premier League clubs. Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish, who attended Sunday's Old Firm game, is the latest to be credited with an interest in Izaguirre. Kayal, however, believes there is a collective desire among the Celtic squad to remain part of a potentially exciting era for the club.

"I am here and happy at Celtic," added Kayal. "I have a long contract and I want to stay here. Really, I feel at home.

"I feel I could play here for the next five or six years with the manager and these players. Great credit must go to the manager for putting us all together and making us feel we have been playing together for years.

"Every day, every game, everyone here wants to play better and we try every game to continue our good form. I think I will learn more here than anywhere else.

"I am learning English and football, so it's fantastic for me to stay here.

"This club has so many talented players. But, not only that, every player really believes we are going to win every game. It is too early to say whether we can win every game until the end of the season, but we will try to do that.

"Rangers are a good team as well, but our manager has given us confidence.

"We are together and push each other to win.

"I don't think we are favourites to win the league yet.

" I was very happy we beat Rangers on Sunday, but we have to give respect to the other teams as well and make sure we focus just as much on every game we play."

Kayal limped out of the Old Firm showdown after 61 minutes with a hamstring strain but is confident it will not force him to miss any matches.

He is suspended for Celtic's next SPL fixture, against Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday, in any case.

Agences de presses

Labels: Beram, Celtic, future, happy, Kayal, Lennon, Scotsman

{ DERMOT Desmond tends to be highly selective about his visits to Celtic Park. The Irish billionaire has a busy schedule, one which prevents his regular attendance at the club in which he is the major shareholder.So the mustachioed Dubliner's presence in the directors' box yesterday, seated between chairman John Reid and chief executive Peter Lawwell, was confirmation, if any was needed, that even by Old Firm standards, this was a highly significant game. After witnessing Celtic's comprehensive 3-0 dismantling of Rangers, it would be a huge surprise if the boardroom chit-chat among the three men was not dominated by the issue of Neil Lennon's contract at the club.

Lennon, of course, has won nothing yet as Celtic manager and has all along accepted that his prospects of having his initial 12-month contract extended would be dependent on bringing the Scottish Premier League title back to the club for the first time in three years. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid the sense that Lennon has already made a compelling case that he is the right man for the job on a longer-term basis. A straw poll of the jubilant home support yesterday would certainly have returned a powerful mandate for the man from Lurgan.

His Celtic team stretched their current unbeaten run to 17 matches with a performance brimful of confidence and conviction. Now eight points clear of Rangers at the top of the table, albeit having played two games more, Lennon's players have put their early season inconsistencies behind them and are responding effectively to both the methods and the motivation of their boss.

There was vindication all over the pitch for Lennon yesterday, from another clean sheet for his defence, through the midfield dominance orchestrated by Beram Kayal and the attacking pace and finishing power of Gary Hooper and Kris Commons. His key signings are coming good at the business end of the season and his team simply looked fresher, livelier and more mobile than Walter Smith's often labouring side.

While Celtic did not have a failure in their ranks, there were few in light blue who mustered pass marks. Ironically, it was the man around whom many anticipated an explosive contest to centre who was perhaps the only exception.

El Hadji Diouf, jeered to the echo by the Celtic supporters from the first moment he appeared, was the only player who looked to possess genuine belief that this could be Rangers' day. The Senegalese international, for all of the contentious baggage he carries with him, clearly has a level of ability which lifts him above the average SPL player.

Agences de presses

Labels: agenda, Celtic, contract, Lennon, Scotsman, thunder

{ Just another game: Neil Lennon is playing down the significance of the SPL clash with Rangers. Pic: © SNS Group

Neil Lennon has said he plays down the importance of matches against Rangers as he prepares his players for Sunday’s Old Firm game. The Celtic manager said he just wants to keep a run of positive results going, regardless of opposition.

The Glasgow rivals meet in the SPL this weekend to play the fourth of seven matches between the sides this season. The match at Parkhead could play a major part in deciding the title race but Lennon has said that it counts the same as any other.

"(Nerves) have not been evident so far and we try to play down the fact it's an Old Firm game,” Lennon told Celtic’s official website.

"We don't really mention the opposition until the day before the game. We just try to keep it as normal as possible.

"We do that because it's just another league game, the outcome is three points. It's important we keep the run going no matter who we are playing and it just happens to be Rangers this weekend."

Celtic’s performance at Ibrox in the 2-2 draw earlier this month has many tipping the side to win this weekend but Lennon warned that the outcome of an Old Firm game can’t be predicted on previous results.

"Every Old Firm game is different," he said. "Regardless of what happened at Ibrox, this will be a different game.

"We will take the positives from it but not be kidded on about it.

"They are a good team, they are the champions. They are very difficult to beat and have a good mentality about them as well."

Agences de presses

Labels: about, Lennon, Rangers, stvtv, talking, Weaposre

{

Celtic manager Neil Lennon hailed his team's attacking threat after they restored their five-point lead over Rangers.

PA PhotosNeil Lennon was delighted with the way his strikers performed

• Dundee Utd 1-3 Celtic

Anthony Stokes and Mark Wilson benefited from deflections to put Celtic in command before the break and defender Daniel Majstorovic dived to head home a 78th-minute clincher after David Goodwillie had got United back in the game.

Celtic could have added more goals to their tally with Gary Hooper hitting the post, seeing a late goal ruled out for offside and completely losing his footing with only Dusan Pernis to beat.

Lennon has been hit by some bad news with full-back Cha Du-ri set for a lengthy lay-off with an ankle injury but he was delighted with the form of Hooper and Stokes as his team secured their fifth consecutive SPL win.

"I thought the front two set the tone," he said. "In the first half they were sensational. We could easily have gone in with a more comfortable lead.

"At 2-0 you are always concerned that Dundee United could get back in the game, and they did, but there was a real belief about the team that they could have got another one, which they did, and really we should have picked Dundee United off a lot better on the counter-attack when they were throwing bodies forward.

"We got a bit of luck with the first two goals but I thought we earned it. We missed easier chances and should have been more clinical at times, but the fact we created quality chances really pleased me.

"I'm really pleased with the threat we have and we defended solidly too."

Lennon played down a fresh injury to Scott Brown, who came off early in the second half after shaking off a groin problem to start, but Cha has a more serious issue following his return from South Korea duty.

"Cha took a bad one. We are sending him to see another specialist to get another opinion," Lennon said. "We are hoping that he will not require surgery, but even if he doesn't require surgery he will be out for a significant period of time.

"He felt it in the first day of training when he came back. He seemed to jar his tendon. It was pretty innocuous really because he came through the training session okay and only really felt it afterwards."

On Brown, Lennon said: "It was the other side. He felt a little tweak in his adductor area I think. We took him off as a precaution so hopefully he should be okay for the weekend."

Wilson evaded a second yellow card for a foul on Craig Conway just before the home side scored and, having been booked for his goal celebrations, he admitted Mike Tumilty could have sent him off.

"I was fortunate. It was a bad tackle, and I can only thank the referee for not giving me a second yellow," Wilson said. "I thought I could have won the ball. I didn't go in to hurt him or anything, but I was pretty lucky."

Lennon agreed with his player but United manager Peter Houston could not remember the incident and accepted they had lost to the better team.

"I don't think we turned up in the first half. I don't think we played anything near what we have been doing recently," Houston said. "For some reason we didn't come out the traps and if you give a good Celtic side a two-goal start you are always going to be up against it.

"When your better players can't pass the ball to each other, they are either nervous or Celtic put them under pressure. I felt Celtic put us under real pressure when we had possession.

"Rather than criticise my players, and yes they should have done better, I give credit to Celtic because they did the job properly."

Houston was pleased with the way his side fought back after Danny Swanson added some attacking spark to their midfield play but he added: "We didn't defend a Charlie Mulgrew free-kick properly.

"They attacked it and we were on the back foot and that's why we lost the third goal, and the game petered out after that."

Agences de presses

Labels: attack, hails, Lennon

{ Lennon's side will now face Rangers seven times this seasonCeltic manager Neil Lennon hailed his side after they twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Rangers at Ibrox in the Scottish Cup fifth round.

"I though we were the better team. After a ropey start we got a grip of the game and the midfielders were outstanding," he told BBC Scotland.

"We told them we believe in them and to be fair they believe in themselves.

"We kept taking the game to Rangers. The belief, character and quality we should today was top drawer."

Rangers went ahead through Jamie Ness within three minutes, before Kris Commons levelled the match at 1-1.

Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster conceded a penalty and was sent off for bringing down Steven Naismith, and Rangers went further ahead before half-time when Steven Whittaker netted the spot-kick.

Celtic captain Scott Brown curled the equaliser, before Naismith was shown a second yellow for simulation.

Forster's dismissal divided opinion, but Lennon said: "It was a fair decision. I couldn't complain.

We'll take a lot out of today, but we're delighted at the progress the players are making

"It came from us being slack and playing square balls where we shouldn't have been, at a period when we were in control of the game."

And Lennon was impressed by his team, who still managed to outplay Rangers for spells despite being a man down.

"After Brown's goal, which was a touch of quality, I thought there was only going to be one winner," said Lennon.

"On the balance of chances perhaps a draw as a fair result, but on the balance of football played I thought we were immense.

"I wouldn't say it was a typical Old firm games - but one of the better ones I suppose.

"We'll take a lot out of today, but we're delighted at the progress the players are making."

The two teams will meet again at Celtic Park in March to determine who will travel to Inverness in the quarter-finals.

Agences de presses

Labels: better, Celtic, Lennon, Rangers, Sport

{ Pleased as punch:Neil Lennon is happy with his side after their draw at Ibrox. Pic: © SNS Group

Celtic manager Neil Lennon praised his side’s performance at Ibrox after their 2-2 draw with Rangers. The Hoops came from behind twice and had to deal with the dismissal of goalkeeper Fraser Foster.

In an action packed game, Rangers went ahead after just three minutes when Jamie Ness rifled in a shot from outside the box but Celtic bounced back with a Kris Commons equaliser. Foster then saw red for fouling Steven Naismith in the box and Steven Whittaker restored Rangers lead from the spot.

Celtic were a man down when Scott Brown scored in the 64th minute but Naismith was sent off in the 75th minute to level the numbers. Lennon’s side had the upper hand in the latter stages but, despite not finding a winner, the manager was delighted with his side’s efforts.

"I thought we were absolutely brilliant," said Lennon. "Every one of the players. We had to overcome a few setbacks but played with no fear and played the way we wanted them to play.

“They set their stall out in the second half and played wonderfully well. They showed a lot of character and belief, scored two goals and created lots of chances.

"We knew at half-time that Rangers would sit it in and try to counter-attack and that would be our only danger. At half-time I said to them that there was no point in playing well and losing and that people don't remember the losers in Old Firm games.

"We controlled the game even when they had the penalty we were the dominant side and to come here and control the game is very pleasing.

"The amount of chances we created and some of the football we played was top class."

The result sets up a replay at Parkhead and guarantees seven Old Firm games this season. Asked how he felt about another Glasgow derby, Lennon said: “Absolute torture!

"I think some times it can be over-egged a bit but it's just the way the fixtures have been brought on. These are the fixtures you want to play in if you are involved in the Old Firm. These are the games that define you.

"And I will take a helluva lot of pleasure by the way my team played. I am very proud of them.

"They were brave on the ball, brave in the tackle, worked tremendously hard and when were down to 10 men we were the better team."

Agences de presses

Labels: Celticaposs, character, impressed, Lennon, stvtv