L IKE the gleaming Rolls Royce parked in the foyer of the Radisson Royal Hotel, which is Celtic's base for tonight's Champions League tie against Spartak, Neil Lennon purred when he was set into gear discussing the quality of his team.

If his young players needed any reminding that they are now operating in the top echelons of the game, the status symbol they will pass on the way to the coach that will take them to the Luzhniki Stadium this evening will be a gleaming aide-memoire.

Lennon wants them to all to feel that this where they belong. Indeed, as he settled into the opulence of the club's temporary abode, the manager invited each and every one of his young charges to savour their surroundings. "Everything about the Champions League is quality," he said. "This is a huge step going away from home to play. Spartak have got quality players in all departments and a very good coach as well. [Unai Emery] did a lot of good things with Valencia. He's obviously highly thought of here as well, and Spartak are starting to find a bit of form domestically. They only lost 3-2 in the Camp Nou and ran Barcelona very, very close, so that in itself tells me the calibre of the team."

Not that anyone in the Celtic camp needed reminded just how good one Spartak player in particular can be. Lennon laughed when asked by a local journalist if a statue would be erected outside Parkhead in honour of Aiden McGeady, who was sold to the Moscow club for £10m two years ago.

However, he was entirely serious when he considered how his side would set about shackling his former team-mate. Man marking is one option, but that could play into Spartak's hands as McGeady is given licence to roam and could drag an opponent into uncharted waters. "Aiden can play both sides, is naturally two footed and has change of pace," said Lennon. "He is going to be a danger, but [Emmanuel] Emenike is a very good player, too. They're powerful and a strong unit, but, defensively, they can be got at, certainly from set pieces they haven't been great."

That is an avenue Celtic will look to explore at every opportunity this evening, and the form of Kris Commons will make this part of their arsenal even more potent. "I've never seen him look fitter, and his movement against Motherwell on Saturday was fantastic, as was his range of passing," said Lennon. "Kris obviously has a goal in him, as well."

Those are attributes Craig Levein appears is happy to ignore for the moment. Commons is not expected to be included in the Scotland squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Wales and Belgium later this month but, diplomatically, Lennon is doing his best to excuse himself from that debate.

Asked directly if he should in the squad, he did break cover and replied: "It's not for me to say, but, if you are talking on current form, yeah. Craig has a sense of loyalty to certain players, and I understand that. But you would like to think, against Wales, a fit Kris Commons would cause problems."

Lennon also takes loyalty seriously, but will pick the team which he believes is best suited to achieving a positive result tonight. The opening draw with Benfica was a cautious affair. With more ammunition at his disposal, Celtic hope to be gunning for all three points.

"Against Benfica, we set up to make sure we were always in the game and that we were not chasing our tails," reflected Lennon. "With [Georgios] Samaras and [Gary] Hooper not starting, and Miku more or less finding his feet at the club, we always felt we might have been a little bit light in the forward areas. Miku's had a couple of weeks to have a look, and Sami's fit, Hoops is fit, and playing well, so we've certainly got more of an attacking threat than we did in the first game."

Lennon is also confident Emilio Izaguirre is back to his best and that Efe Ambrose has added more resilience to the defence. All of which should help Celtic avoid a relapse to the Achilles' heel of their European games: the concession of early goals. "We had a spate of games when we went a goal down early on," Lennon recalled. "It's something we want to avoid."

Clean sheets in their last four European matches confirms they are eradicating the problem, though the manager made it clear they are not doing anything differently in their preparation, insisting his side have simply got better. Further improvement will be required if Celtic are to advance, and Lennon still believes there is all to play for.

"At this level, everyone worries about the opposition as anyone can defeat anyone else," he said. "We've less pressure and expectation compared to previous years or the rest of the teams in the group but I don't want us to be here to make up the numbers. I want us to compete. We have good pace, good technical players and a goal threat. We've got to go for it."