Lennon sanguine about transfer frustration despite outburst

Celtic spent £7.4m on Amido Balde, Virgil van Dijk, Steven Mouyokolo and Derk Boerrigter but none started the crucial game on Wednesday. That figure was about £13m less than the sum raised by selling Gary Hooper, Victor Wanyama and Kelvin Wilson while Lassad, Miku, Thomas Rogne and Paddy McCourt have also left since the end of last season. Lennon, who got some issues off his chest as the relief of qualifying overtook him, had said: "We came into this with no real help," which sounded like a dig at the PLC board for not doing more to arm him with a squad which might reach the group stage with fewer difficulties.

If that had been what he meant, though, Lennon decided to row back, his mood noticeably lighter yesterday than it had been on Wednesday. Had enough been done to help him? "Yes." When he was asked if he had been given the backing he deserved after taking Celtic through to the last 16 in 2012-13 he gave a long pause before answering. "I think there's money to spend, it's just about trying to get the right player in for the right price. We're always looking for value for money. There have been players where we thought 'yeah' and the price has gone up. I've even pulled the plug on one or two because I didn't think they were worth the money.

"I would have liked, like everybody else, to have done the business earlier and quicker but that's just not the case sometimes. In the case of Teemu Pukki [who Celtic are signing from Schalke], for example, we were in for him a week or two ago and they said 'no deal'. They weren't prepared to sell and it looked as though they were stockpiling centre forwards. Now things have moved on and taken their natural course of events."

The additions of midfielder Nir Biton from Ashdod and striker Pukki - for £700,000 and £2.5m respectively - have brought Celtic's signings to six for a combined fee of £10.6m. Lennon was last night working on adding at least one and possibly two more before the transfer window closes at 11pm tonight. One the priorities is to find another left-back to provide competition for Emilio Izaguirre.

The search is widespread. Celtic have signed from clubs in Portugal, Netherlands, Israel and Germany in the past 10 weeks and continue to look even further afield. "We've been looking everywhere, all over the world - South America, Panama, places like that - and sometimes it's very difficult to complete deals," he explained. "Sometimes you think you're there and then the price goes up, another agent gets involved and you end up talking to three different agents. It just becomes a muddle sometimes and we don't want to get involved in that. We do our business cleanly and simply and quickly, but sometimes that can't be the case."

Celtic will face their now familiar battle with focus and concentration this afternoon when thoughts of the Champions League must be put aside as they take on Dundee United in the SPFL Premiership. Celtic play before current league leaders Inverness Caledonian Thistle kick-off today and will go top of the table if they win by three goals. United would overtake Celtic if they win.

Jackie McNamara's side have conceded 18 goals in their last four games against Celtic and, if optimism is limited at Tannadice, they at least have been fortunate with the timing of the encounter. Celtic are always vulnerable after the more draining European ties. "These games are the hard ones because of the effort and the energy the players have put in," said Lennon. "We'll have had two days to recover before we play at 12.45 so we've got to be mindful of the game in terms of who starts and who doesn't but, from what I gather, we've got a clean bill of health. James [Forrest] is feeling a bit sore."

It particularly worries and upsets Lennon when he sees James Forrest receiving unwanted attention from opponents. Having been hurt in what the manager considered a "shocker" of a tackle against Shakther, the winger was going to be substituted at the end of normal time, with Lennon decided to keep him on only until the whistle went. Neither manager nor player envisaged the thrilling final twist to the game in which Anthony Stokes weaved through the defence and cut the ball back for the 22-year-old to bury the winning goal in stoppage time.

There is hardly a player in the Celtic squad that Lennon speaks about with more warmth than Forrest. When supporters criticise him - either from the stands or via social media or radio phone-ins - Lennon is instinctively protective. "I don't know what they want from him. There are times when he's got three [opponents] hanging off him and he still seems to get away from them. I don't know if they expect him to do that all the time, it's impossible to do that.

"It's rubbish. He wants to play but it's not been always possible for him as he has been ravaged with injuries. It's sad sometimes, it's like watching a thoroughbred lame. When he plays and when he's in full flow we don't have many better than him, I really believe that. He's brave, he always wants to take the ball, he tries to make something happen and I couldn't be more pleased for him when he scored the goal. I'd love him to have a 15-20 game run where he is injury-free because you'd really see the best of him. There is far more to come from him as well, I think he's one of the most naturally gifted footballers to come out of the country in a long time."