ABERDEEN goalkeeper Tomas Cerny believes that Celtic have taken a 'step back' since Neil Lennon replaced Brendan Rodgers as manager - and reckons that if Sparta Prague play on the counter-attack this evening at Parkhead, the Czechs could leave Scotland with all three points.

The Premiership champions host the Czech outfit in their third Europa League group stage fixture this season, having already recorded a 2-2 draw away to Lille and suffering a 3-1 home defeat at the hands of AC Milan.

Speaking to iSport in his homeland, Czech keeper Cerny said that he thought Celtic had regressed under Lennon's management, and are unable to control matches the way they did under his predecessor Rodgers.

Cerny said: "Celtic are not in an ideal situation at the moment. We've played them twice and I've seen some of their other matches, and it's definitely not the Celtic of the past few seasons when they were coached by Brendan Rodgers.

"Under him they played great football; they were able to control matches, hold the ball and play combinations. This season it seems to me that they're no longer so strong, the results and the football haven't been optimal.

"They still have good players though, for example Odsonne Edouard, who has just returned after being out with Covid-19 for two weeks.

"Sunday was a key match for them, they lost the derby to Rangers and only drew with us in the league so they had to get to the cup final at all costs. They must have been under a lot of pressure.

"On the other hand, I wouldn't say they were extremely dominant. They scored two nice goals, then calmed things down and played the match to win.

"In my opinion Sparta have a chance of beating Celtic at the moment. I'd recommend, as a template, the match against Ferencvaros in the Champions League qualifiers where they didn't manage to qualify.

"Celtic held the ball well enough but the Hungarians picked them off on the break. That could be the way to go because their defence is not very quick. Shane Duffy, who is on loan from Brighton, is huge but he has problems with pace.

"In addition they'll be without Kristoffer Ajer, who is one of their few defenders with pace. That could be a big advantage for Sparta. They have relatively fast players on the flanks, Frimpong and Laxalt are very good in that regard. But I think they'll be very vulnerable in the centre of defence."

When asked to expand on the differences between Rodgers' Celtic and Lennon's team, Cerny explained: "The difference in their game is striking.

"Rodgers played his typical football here based on a lot of passes, ball possession and good movement. It was obvious that he knew what he was doing.

"It was actually similar to how Rangers play now under Steven Gerrard, and it's bringing them results.

"They haven't lost in Europe yet and they lead the league in Scotland. So yes, for Celtic it's been a bit of a step back - at least in terms of their play.

"This season Celtic can win the league for a 10th season in a row but if you look at their performances and the table - where Rangers have pulled away from them - it's not ideal at all even though Celtic's last two matches have been good.

"But the bigger topic is this: Celtic fans see a big difference in how Celtic and Rangers play. Gerrard's team play very, very attractive football. They create a lot of chances, they don't concede goals. And the Celtic fans are annoyed.

"They are sceptical about it. That's why the team has been under a lot of pressure lately. The expectation is huge. No team has ever won ten-in-a-row.

"In addition, Celtic have lost their support at the stadium. Even when they played a team lower down in the table they'd have 50-60,000 fans pushing them on.

"Now it's not there and it's just the quality of the players themselves. They have shown a maximum of two or three good performances this season. Otherwise they've struggled to break teams down and it's been quite disjointed."