Forward Thinking

It was a case of contrasting fortunes for Celtic over the past week, but Neil Lennon believes the team will continue building on what has been a good start to the season

- Paul Cuddihy

NEIL Lennon has enough experience as a player and manager to know that football fortunes can change in the blink of an eye, and thus is proved over the past few days.

The euphoria of an impressive 2-0 victory over CFR Cluj in the UEFA Europa League was followed by another 2-0 result, this time a defeat away to Livingston.

The team had gone into the match full of confidence following their European triumph, when goals from Odsonne Edouard and Mohamed Elyounoussi delivered a vital three points and put the Hoops top of Group E.

But it proved to be a day of disappointment at the Tony Macaroni Arena. The loss represented Celtic’s first in the Premiership this season, while it was also compounded by the red card issued to Ryan Christie in the first-half of the game.

Now, with a break in domestic action for the latest round of international fixtures, the Scottish Champions have to wait until a week on Saturday (October 19) before they can hopefully get back to winning ways, with a home game against Ross County next on the horizon.

“The players don’t get much of a break,” the Celtic manager said. “I was talking to Kris Ajer after the game and he’s got Spain and Romania, and they’re two crucial games for Norway.

“However, for the likes of Nir Bitton, it can be good to have the internationals because he may get game-time, and players like him would need that, having been out for a month with the hamstring injury.