NEIL Lennon last night insisted that Celtic are capable of reaching a European final again in future – but stressed they aren’t taking their place in the last 16 of the Europa League for granted.
Lennon’s team drew the first leg of their last 32 double header with Copenhagen 1-1 in Denmark last week and are highly fancied to progress to the next round at Parkhead this evening.
However, the Northern Irishman, who has Scott Brown and James Forrest available again, knows the Scottish champions must perform at their very best in order to avoid an ignominious exit in front of their own fans.
“You can’t take any opposition lightly at all,” he said. “Copenhagen have a good manager (Stale Solbakken) who’s very experienced and has been doing the European bit for a long time now.
“You could see that in the second half when they put us under pressure. Copenhagen upped their game and gave us a lot of problems. But we got a couple of great chances on the counter attack. We looked as if we could score and I’m looking for that tomorrow night.”
Asked about the return of Brown, Lennon said: “To have him back is a massive boost. You know how influential he is to the team with the way he plays. I thought we got a little bit ragged (in Copenhagen last week) and we just lost that influence a little bit as well which is what he brings.”
Celtic topped their Europa League qualifying group for the first time in their history this season after wins over Cluj, Lazio and Rennes.
Lennon, who was a key member of the Martin O’Neill team that reached the UEFA Cup final in Seville back in 2003, believes that shows the potential of his current side.
“I was once asked if the last 16 of the Champions League is a glass ceiling for Scottish teams and I always think that some day some team will come along and break that ceiling,” he said.
“I always think that maybe one day a Scottish team will get to another final, a Europa League final anyway. I’m hoping that’s going to be the case as we build.
“But I just want to get to the last 16 and take it from there. We could get a doozy of a draw as well, that’s the exciting bit as well.”
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