BE careful what you wish for.

Wise words which might stick in Neil Lennon's throat as he digests the draw for the Champions League playoff round. The Celtic manager emerged from Wednesday's tense tie against Elfsborg to proclaim that Shakhter Karagandy, champions of Kazakhstan, would be his preferred opponents in the next round. Now that it has fallen that way, the reality has hit hard, Lennon accepting that the first leg a week on Tuesday is not only a journey of three thousand miles, but one into the unknown.

There is little time to build up a dossier and having the opportunity to actually watch them for himself is a luxury beyond him. Besides, it did not do BATE Borisov any good in the second qualifying round as Viktor Kumykov, Shakhter's shrewd coach, altered his tactics when he knew the spies were in the ground.

The two 1-0 wins for Shakhter - who then went on to make harder work of overcoming Alabanian side, Skenderbeau Korce (winning 3-0 at home then going three down within the first 29 minutes of the return in Tirana before scoring twice to win on aggregate) - caused them to appear on the radar of many football followers for the first time, unless it happened to register that they were knocked out of the Europa League qualifiers by Irish side St Patrick's Athletic two years ago.

At that stage, Shakhter played European games in their own stadium in Karagunda but now host visiting teams in the ultra-modern Astana Stadium in the futuristic-looking capital of Kazakhstan. A sliding roof, 30,000 capacity and every conceivable facility has been built into the stadium, which was opened in 2009. It has everything, except natural grass, and Lennon will have to prepare his players for a fifth European game on an artificial surface in the last 12 months.

That, along with the lack of information and the logistics of getting there for the first leg just three days after they play Aberdeen makes this a tougher challenge than the Kazakhs' lowly coefficient ranking would indicate it should be.

That being so, Lennon would be happy to return for the second leg at Parkhead on August 28 with the tie level. "It's a bit of an unknown one for us," he said ahead of the friendly against Liverpool in Dublin. "We're playing in Aberdeen on Saturday lunchtime, and there's a possibility we might have to fly direct to Kazakhstan after that. So the draw could have been kinder. We'll be focused; there's a lot at stake, and we'll prepare as well as we can."

As it happens, the opportunity to watch Shakhter play in the Astana Stadium is available, given they meet the capital side there on league business next weekend. Travel issues and visa requirements make this a no-go for Lennon, though, and he will have to rely on reports from contacts and DVD evidence to make his assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the team which stands between them and entry to the group stages. "It would be planes, trains and automobiles for me to get out there," he said. "It's a seven or eight-hour flight. So it's probably going to be impossible, but we'll try to get a representative out there to see them play."

The surface seems to be causing more concern than the personnel Shakhter have at their disposal. Though they have won in Helsinki, Moscow and in Belfast on plastic, the artificial pitch in the Boras Arena was a definite leveller when they played Elfsborg, and Lennon said: "From what I gather the game might be played on a plastic pitch, and that will be the fifth time in a year we've had to perform on that kind of surface. The trouble with it is that there are different types of artificial surfaces. The only indication we'll get of how it's going to play is once we get out there."

Preparing to welcome the Celtic travelling party will be Kumykov, the Shakhter coach, who has already begun his mind games. He is attempting to portray an inferiority complex, arguing that reaching this round, the furthest they have ever gone in European competition, is more than satisfying, especially as the domestic cup is his priority. Given that, halfway through the domestic season, they do not look like retaining their crown, that is akin resembling a smokescreen.

Kumykov's fawning praise should also be regarded with suspicion. He said: "Of all the clubs we could have drawn, Celtic are the most dangerous. They defeated Barcelona recently, while we have already achieved our initial goal by getting to this stage. It will be easier for us psychologically. We will be more relaxed, because their fans will not forgive them if Celtic fail to get past Shakhter. We will do our best to make it happen."

Kumykov added: "From a football perspective, it might be better for us to be in the Europa League. If we go through to the Champions League we will play giant clubs. For this we would need to buy few players. We are short of depth, and would not cope with big competitions. I have no experienced players."

Every word should come with a warning.