Celtic boss Neil Lennon faces a familiar problem after every international break. That is, he gets to spend little time with his players who have been on international duty, before they return to action with the Hoops.
However, he feels that the recent international fixtures may benefited some of his Celtic players. He believes that the trio of James Forrest, Callum McGregor and Ryan Christie will return to the club with plenty of confidence after taking part in some recent Scotland victories.
“Come back buzzing”
“I’ve got a group of Scottish lads who have come back buzzing after winning two games” Lennon said, as reported by the Scottish Sun.
“Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie and James Forrest were also pleased with the round of games and three wins in a row will be good for them psychologically” he concluded.
You would expect the trio named by Lennon to go into the Celtic side for the game against Livingston. Therefore, it will be interesting to see if the players have a spring in their step following the recent international success.
Manager believes players will return in good form
That would be good for the Hoops if this was the case, Often players can return from international duty sluggish. However, Lennon doesn’t seem to expect this to be the case with any of his Celtic players.
It might still be a good idea to withdraw at least one of the players at some stage of the game. Especially if Celtic get the game wrapped up early on.
With the Hoops in action against Rennes on Thursday, it might not be a bad idea to give the likes of Forrest or Christie the last 20 minutes of the game on the bench.
It remains to be seen how effective the players named by Neil Lennon will be against Livingston. However, the Hoops boss seems to expect them to play even better after their international experiences. Only time will tell on that front.
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