New kids on le block could be the key to Europa League success for Lennon

Senior Sports Writer

Thursday 20 October 2011

NEIL LENNON, the Celtic manager, is considering getting down with the kids in the university city of Rennes tonight, and veteran defender Daniel Majstorovic could be one of the men forced out to make way for young blood.

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ronnie cully in rennes ronnie.cully@heraldandtimes.co.uk

Defensive frailties have undermined Celtic’s season at home and in Europe, allied to a clutch of fresh injuries, and have brought the manager to the conclusion the time is right for radical thinking.

Gary Hooper, Georgios Samaras and Kris Commons all failed to travel with the squad to France as they remained in Glasgow to receive treatment on their ankle, shin and calf problems respectively. Lennon was already without long-term injury victims Emilio Izaguirre and Scott Brown, while Badr El Kadourri is cup-tied and Victor Wanyama has a groin problem.With one eye on Sunday’s Clydesdale Bank Premier League game at home to Aberdeen, and mindful of the fact Celtic have already lost three league games in the wake of European ties this season, Lennon has packed his squad with starlets from the Under-19 squad. Callum McGregor, 18, Paul George, 17, Marcus Fraser ,17, Joe Chalmers, 17, and Patrik Twardzik, 18, made 20-year-old James Forrest look like a father figure as they nervously mingled with the rest of the travelling party.But they are here to serve a purpose, and a number will at least make it to the bench while a handful of much-more established players are in line to be excused duty tonight. Top of that list appears to be Majstorovic, whose form has been a major headache.“Daniel is an experienced player and he was disappointed with his performance on Saturday, as we all were,” said Lennon of his defender’s efforts in Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Kilmarnock. “He is one of the players we look to to bring composure and calmness to the team.“It might be one of those situations where he might need a break because he’s been playing a lot of international football. Or we might decide it’s best for him to stay in the team and play his way through it.”Lennon is not writing off this Europa League campaign, mired in confusion though it remains, courtesy of Sion’s attempt to be re-instated to the competition. However, with a depleted squad, he must prioritise, and making up lost ground on Rangers and Motherwell is top of his list.“We’re hoping Sami [Samaras] and Hoops [Hooper] will be okay for Sunday,” said Lennon. “Kris [Commons] is having a scan today and we’ll know later on the extent of the injury.”Lennon hopes to have most of his squad back by next week, and to have also moved up the Europa League table with a win under their belt.“Realistically, with the group leaders playing each other, we need to take something from this game then win our two home games,” he said.

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New kids on le block could be the key to Europa League success for Lennon

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