Neil Lennon has hinted that he will look to rotate his Celtic squad over the next ten days or so.
Lennon’s men face a gruelling final three games before the next international break. They start against his former side Hibernian on Saturday before facing Cluj in the Europa League and finishing off away to Livingston.
Three wins are very achievable and would set us up nicely both domestically and on the continent. But with a trio of different challenges appearing over such a small timeframe, Lennon says his players know there will be some changing around.
“It’s important that players don’t get disappointed,” he told the official Celtic website on Friday. “They know there’s going to be rotation.
“This is a big week again, with Hibs on Saturday, Cluj on Thursday and then Livingston away next weekend. So the players know they will play a part in that.”
Lennon has lots of options in his Celtic squad
It will be interesting to see how Lennon tries to prioritise the next three matches. We will be favourites for all three games, but they are far from certain victories.
Two league wins would equal our terrific winning start to the 2010/2011 season. It would mean that we would be, at the very least, three points clear at the top of the Premiership – with scope for more if Rangers were to drop points.
But despite that, you feel that the game against Cluj is the most important of the three. Our opening matchday result in Rennes was a credible one but its effect will only be fully maximised if we beat the Romanians.
Lennon will almost certainly field his strongest XI for that one but that could mean that a few fringe players get an outing in Livingston a few days later. The likes of Vakoun Issouf Bayo and Jeremie Frimpong – who both impressed in midweek – would be prime candidates to come in.
Lennon must be licking his lips at the prospect of giving some of those guys another chance to impress.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
