THERE was always the likelihood of Neil Lennon producing some withering put-downs yesterday, and he didn't disappoint.

The Celtic manager was inevitably asked about the disparaging assessment of his team's "ultra-defensive style" against Barcelona in Camp Nou, which the former German internationalist Bernd Schuster said was so depressing the Parkhead side should not be allowed to compete in the Champions League.

Celtic themselves have derived considerable pride from a display which was so organised and disciplined they were either ahead or level in the match until Jordi Alba's 94th-minute winner. Schuster, though, was unimpressed. The former Barcelona and Real Madrid midfielder, who also managed Madrid and the Turkish club Besiktas, made some acidic comments in his role as a pundit on the Spanish radio station ABC.

It was a certainty Lennon would have something to say about that when it was put to him at his weekly media briefing at Lennoxtown yesterday. He said: "I was sitting an hour into the game thinking to myself, 'what's Bernd Schuster thinking of our performance tonight?' I thought I'd better throw James Forrest and Kris Commons on . . . and I hoped that would please him."

There was more. "It was just the ramblings of someone born out of ignorance. Obviously Spain have their own field of ex-managers who like to ramble on. We've got a few of them here in Scotland as well . . .

"It's just complete nonsense. I'm sure at Real Madrid he did the same thing at the Nou Camp in 2007. Bernd Schuster's pleasure from the game is not really high up on my list of priorities. I thought we played very sensibly. We played a realistic game and took Barcelona to 93 and a half minutes. Not many teams can say they did that."

Predictably, there was more supportive feedback from managers Lennon respects. Martin O'Neill and Gordon Strachan were both in touch to say how well his team did in making Barcelona work so hard for their win. Interestingly an even bigger managerial name is also now on Lennon's contacts list: Sir Alex Ferguson. "We have been in contact on and off for a few months and he has been a great source of encouragement and advice," Lennon said. "I don't want to dwell too much on it because it's a private conversation but he has been pretty helpful at times."

In recent seasons, Celtic's back four have been taken apart away to Braga, Utrecht and Sion, making it pretty ironic that they should now be accused of going to Camp Nou and relying on their defending. The side have significantly improved in Europe over the past 12 months in particular, though, and Lennon praised the men responsible for the transformation. "I think Emilio Izaguirre is back to his best. He had to play a totally different game in Barcelona from what he is used to," Lennon said. "He likes to get forward, but he had to be really disciplined in the role that we asked him to play and I thought he dealt with Pedro very well. Mikael Lustig has been excellent since the start of the season. I have two very capable right-backs now in him and Adam Matthews. We are now very strong in that position.

"Kelvin Wilson is playing at the top of his game at the moment and Efe Ambrose has had a seamless introduction to the team and shown what a good player he is. He has brought something to the table.

"We also have Thomas Rogne at centre-half and Charlie Mulgrew when we need him to play there. Charlie played in a different position at the Nou Camp, but I thought he was great. So the defenders, and the team, are really pushing themselves beyond their limits at the moment and they are finding the answers. That is fantastic.

"If someone had said we would win in Helsinki, Helsingborg and Moscow and go to the last kick at the Nou Camp I'd have snapped your hand off for that. The players are probably playing beyond their expectations at the minute. Domestically, I think we've played fantastically well in the last month or so. They've gelled very well, the squad's strong, and we haven't got too many injuries at the moment. I just watched the players train this morning and there doesn't seem to be a hangover."

Lennon will make changes for this afternoon's return to league duty against Kilmarnock at Parkhead. "I will freshen things up because [the Barcelona] game took a hell of a lot out of them. That was as demanding as it gets, mentally and physically."

Georgios Samaras left Camp Nou with his ankle in a protective boot. A scan on Thursday revealed considerable swelling and it will be 10 days to a fortnight before he will be available again. The return fixture with Barcelona is 11 days away. Lennon said: "He could be back for the Barca game, which would be brilliant because we missed him when he went off. He was a handful for them and I think our performance in the second half might have been different – certainly offensively – if Georgios had been on the pitch."

Scott Brown also bowed out of the action early in Barcelona but his injury does not seem to be as serious as first feared. "He came in today and trained fine, which is remarkable," Lennon said. "He's fit for selection tomorrow. He was definitely deteriorating as the game went on in Barcelona. The medical advice was that we would do well to get an hour out of Scott and that is what we got."

The Celtic team can expect to emerge at Parkhead to an ovation from a home support which appreciated the enormous effort in Barcelona. A year ago, most of the same players were booed off the pitch after a goalless home draw with Hibernian. "A week is a long time in football and a year is a lifetime," Lennon said. "I don't know where I'll be this time next year. We don't take it for granted, but we enjoy what we've got."