Neil Lennon is seeing exactly why Brendan Rodgers came back to Celtic.
The boss’ second coming wasn’t exactly universally popular after the manner of his 2019 departure to Leicester City. But after another Champions League shellacking away to Dortmund, the Premiership champions have finally gotten to grips with the step up to this level and are in a strong position to reach the playoff round of the re-formatted competition.
And showing he does have the chops to mix it at the European top table is why Rodgers got back in the Parkhead saddle according to Lennon, who has been impressed with what h’s seen from his former club when they’ve been tested by higher calibre opposition than they are at home most weeks. Speaking to BoyleSports, who offer the latest Celtic v Rangers odds, Lennon said: “Celtic have been excellent in the Champions League, of late, beating RB Leipzig and then getting a hard fought draw against Club Brugge.
“They have Zagreb away, which again is a difficult tie, but then Young Boys at home which you would like to think that they could win. That win should be enough to finish in the middle group and that would be a brilliant achievement. The point in Atalanta after beating Slovan Bratislava, fantastic.
“Getting into the playoffs would be an outstanding return and something to build on in years to come, I think doing well in Europe was one of the reasons Rodgers came back and they have made inroads this season.”
And if they do make it through to the knockout stage, Lennon has no time for worrying about who they might land and has urged the Hoops to simply embrace it. He added: “Celtic should fear no one in the Champions League, the next step is to get into the playoffs and that would be a great achievement.
“Then it would be about embracing the challenge of whoever is next and back yourself to beat whoever you draw and seeing what happens. The excitement around it would be huge for Celtic and they know the fans will be there in force, they just need to get through and see what the draw brings.”