Neil Lennon has tried very hard not to rock the boat since becoming Celtic manager in February. The Northern Irishman regularly commented on the importance of keeping things the same during his tenure as interim boss.
That trend has continued to some degree since Lennon was appointed as Brendan Rodgers’ permanent successor in May. The Hoops have embarked on a pre-season plan the players are familiar with. They’ve travelled over to their usual base in Austria and got to grips with the warm climate.
Dublin challenge
However, there is one small difference from this season’s pre-season schedule compared to recent years. During the past two seasons, Rodgers took his side to Ireland to play a friendly against Shamrock Rovers.
The match gave the Celtic squad some more game time and invariably allowed the players to get their shooting boots on and score a few goals. The Dubliners wouldn’t have been quite as happy with the workout – losing 9-0 and 7-0 in the two matches.
Rovers are scheduled to play Sligo in the league this Friday so we can only assume that was the reason for Celtic not making the trip this year. It’s a shame too, because the Irish fanbase don’t often get to see the team in action.
The players look like they could do with another run-out too, to make sure they’re in peak condition for Sarajevo.
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