Lennon insists 18 hearts must beat as one if St Mirren are to best Celtic

Friday 19 October 2012

IT is inevitable that in the days leading up to a game the bigger team gets all the attention.

Danny Lennon has been encouraged by his side's form

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Chris Tait

So it was at St Mirren Park yesterday ahead of the visit of Celtic, Danny Lennon alighting on the pace, movement and passing ability of one of his favourite clubs . . . Barcelona really do have it all, don't they?

The St Mirren manager did rein back his focus to the small matter of Celtic arriving in Paisley tomorrow lunchtime but you could forgive his digression, the Parkhead side's Champions League mission to Camp Nou next week holding an allure for anyone with an interest in Scottish football. He will hope the league leaders are guilty of something similar. Domestic issues have a habit of becoming eclipsed when Barcelona's stellar talent loom on the horizon, the responsibility of chasing after Lionel Messi requiring a good deal more mental preparation than shackling, say, Graham Carey. St Mirren will hope that if Celtic's minds are already in Spain, the points will remain in Paisley.It would be a landmark for Lennon should that happen, given he has yet to take a single point from the champions since taking over in Paisley two years ago. He has come close – a match decided by Gary Hooper's last-minute goal during Danny Lennon's first season in charge springs to mind – but the task of upsetting Celtic has come to represent the St Mirren manager's white whale. Or his Barca."It is the same sort of scale – we've got to go and play well against the best," said Lennon. "If we can bring our ultimate strengths and start to hit that fifth gear I keep on about then we will give ourselves a chance. We need 18 hearts beating as one on Saturday and that is going to be the challenge. These [matches] are not the easiest but they are certainly the ones you want to go and challenge in. Likewise Celtic will play the top club in Europe and they will want to go and challenge themselves against the best."St Mirren will not go into the match unarmed, though. The Paisley side have scored four goals more at home than Celtic have this season – a statistic which franks a run of four matches unbeaten in their own backyard – and have benefited from more dependable form among their strikers. "That is something which I think we have addressed, we have doubled our goal tally from this stage last season," said Lennon. "We've only failed to score in one game so far."

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Lennon insists 18 hearts must beat as one if St Mirren are to best Celtic

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