Two things are certain: Celtic will face Elfsborg and Mo Bangura will continue to be talked about

The competitiveness will need 
to be self-sustained, since the Belfast club's part-time players reportedly spent little time on tactical and shape training in the build-up 
to the first leg. They appeared overwhelmed by the occasion and, in truth, the draw pairing them with Celtic was the triumphant moment for Cliftonville. There is mutual respect among the two sets of supporters, which will also strip 
the atmosphere in Glasgow tonight of any meaningful edge.

Even so, the home side will strive to be decisive. Few alterations will be required to the starting line-up, as the team was solid and professional in Belfast. The non-competitive games provide a chance for experimentation and for fitness to be acquired by the rest of the squad, and Lennon is likely to retain the majority of the side from last week.

"It can be difficult," the Celtic manager said of preparing his squad for the circumstances. "But I would like to think the players would be professional enough to go and win the game. We need to try and put 
as much distance between ourselves and Cliftonville as we can. It's another game in our preparation 
for the start of the season, in terms of – if we come through – playing Elfsborg. So I want them to take 
the same approach they did last week. They will be a week fitter. They look sharper now, so I expect another strong performance."

Elfsborg are the likely opponents in the third qualifying round as they are 7-1 ahead of Daugava Daugavpils from last week's first leg. Although they are five points adrift of the Allsvenskan leaders, Malmo, the Swedish side will be more accomplished opponents than Cliftonville. That alone will focus minds ahead of tonight's tie, since Celtic only have one more friendly 
to play before the next round of Champions League qualifiers.

Nonetheless, the preoccupation has been with Mo Bangura rather than Elfsborg's collective merit. It is a measure of the striker's impact at Celtic Park that he has generated more interest while on loan to the Swedish side. An adamant tone comes naturally to Lennon, but 
he is earnest in his assertion that Bangura should not play against his parent club in the next round.

The stance seems overcautious, since Bangura never convinced during his brief appearances for Celtic. He has scored five goals 
in 15 games for Elfsborg, including one in the first leg against Daugava Daugavpils, and Elfsborg paid 
a fee to take him on loan for the season. There was no clause in 
the agreement stipulating that he 
could not play against Celtic, and no UEFA regulation would prevent him facing the Scottish champions.

"Peter [Lawwell] has spoken to Elfsborg," said Lennon. "We have a good relationship with the club and we don't want that to change, but we're hoping that common sense prevails. I mean, their coach has come out and said he's their player but he's not, he's ours. We've loaned him there for a year with the intention of bringing him back, and hopefully bringing him back a better player. It's one of those quandaries you can't foresee when these deals are done. It's now an impossible situation for the player."

Lennon can be persuasive, and may yet speak to the player himself. The signing of Amido Balde, the Portuguese centre-forward, this summer and the pursuit of another striker suggests that the manager has made his judgment on the player's worth to Celtic already. 
He has never seemed a formidable prospect and it might be that Lennon is wary of a player focused by having a point to prove rather than his opinion of Bangura's ability. If he rated the player that highly, he would be in Celtic's Champions League squad. Yet Lennon stressed that Bangura may yet have a future in Glasgow.

"Why not?" he said. "When he was here he didn't show the potential we thought he had. He knows the environment in Sweden – he's thrived on it – and we hope he comes back a better player who is more mature. John Park [Celtic football development manager] did a lot of work on him before we brought him and we thought he was a talented player. It might have taken him a bit longer to settle than we initially thought and he didn't really show what we was capable of. But recent reports have been very, very good."

Other Celtic players have their own fixations. Efe Ambrose spent the summer playing for Nigeria in the Confederations Cup, although his performances at right-back tended to emphasise the occasionally scatty nature of his play. He suffered similar aberrations against Juventus in the last 16 of the Champions League earlier this year, but the setbacks have not undermined his self-belief.

"[I had a] couple of bad games," Ambrose said. "But I never put it in my head, it just made me a better player to make sure I do better next time and make sure it won't happen again. Thanks to the manager and my team-mates, who supported me throughout, when I was down they raised me up and made me a strong person. They stood by me, the manager, Kelvin, the rest of the team. It happens in football and it was just unfortunate that it had to be me. It should help me if we reach the Champions League group stages again. That's our aim, to do better than we did last year – and I believe we can. We'll see where it takes us."