LENNON RUES INJURIES

The Celtic manager Neil Lennon has said that his side has been hit by a number of injury problems ahead of the Scottish Premier league match with Inverness. Neil Lennon and Celtic will be focusing back on the Scottish Premier league after the hugely successful 2-0 win over Swedish club Helsingborg in the Champions League. This success has almost put the club back into the group stages of the Champions League, which is worth far more in revenue than what the club makes in the Scottish Premier league throughout the season. Neil Lennon will be facing a number of injury problems ahead of the match with Inverness.

As a result, he has said that he will be making last minute changes to the squad that will be facing the eighth placed team in the division. Joe Ledley, Beram Kayal, and Thomas Rogne are some of the major injury worries for Neil Lennon ahead of the match. Even though most of the squad is not suffering from long-term injuries, the niggling injuries that appear throughout the season will be responsible for keeping out a number of the regular players in the match against Inverness. Celtic are currently in the fifth position after having drawn their opening match of the season.

“We had 11 players out going into the Ross County game and I need to see how many we’ll have this time. We’re hoping Mo and Paddy will come into the squad. There is still a doubt about Daryl Murphy and Stokesy (Anthony Stokes). Filip Twardzik could come into the squad as well. Joe Ledley has had a scan on his groin and he is a doubt, and Beram and Thomas are doubts with ankle problems,” said Neil Lennon ahead of the match with Inverness after which the club will face Helsingborg in the second leg.

CELTIC FAVOURITES FOR HOLMES

Scottish club Celtic appear to be the favourites to secure the signature of Tranmere Rovers defender Danny Holmes, who is out of contract at the end of this season. A number of clubs including Liverpool have been interested in the 23-year-old defender, who can play at the right back position. However, Celtic manager Neil Lennon has confirmed that the club are extremely close to securing the signature, which would be a major coup for the club ahead of the new season. It is still unknown whether Rangers will be taking part in the Scottish Premier league next season, but either way Celtic are preparing for the next season in the best possible way.

The 23-year-old has been touted as one of the next big thing from English football. However, it is thought that he has rejected the opportunity to move to Liverpool after they could not guarantee him regular football. Even though he is out of contract at the end of this season, the club Tranmere Rovers decided to use the option of extending the deal by one year. It means that the club are now eligible for a transfer fee, which is likely to be in the region of £ 4 million.

“A number of clubs are chasing Danny and one of those clubs is Celtic. But with Tranmere exercising their one-year option, I will only be contacted if the clubs agree a deal. However, I will say Celtic would be a great club for Danny and he would be perfect for Neil Lennon’s style of play. He won Young Player of the Year with his outstanding performances and he is a model pro who displays outstanding maturity on and off the field. We know of Championship interest but Scotland is the better option and Celtic is a club he would be extremely interested in joining,” said his agent.

WILSON MOVING ON

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has confirmed that defender Mark Wilson will be leaving the club at the end of the season. Mark Wilson can leave the club with this head held high due to his incredible service to the club over the last six and half years according to manager Neil Lennon. They were part of the Celtic team back in 2006 that were defeated in Copenhagen. Lennon recalled many occasions when Wilson was a major part of the Celtic team’s success. Wilson initially joined Celtic back in 2006 January, and has been at the club ever since. However, the defender will leave the club in the summer in order to search for new pastures according to Lennon.

Neil Lennon made Wilson as the captain for the 1-0 win over St Johnstone during the weekend. Due to the fact that the wage bill and the size of the squad is extremely large, Lennon revealed that he will be trimming the squad in the summer. Wilson is expected to be the unlucky person amongst the current crop of defenders at Celtic Park. The 27-year-old has suffered a number of injuries this season, which have unfortunately meant that he has not been the first choice. This position is expected to continue next season as well.

“He’s going to have to move on. We have made provision for next season. It will probably be his last time playing at Celtic Park. He has been a tremendous servant to the club. Unfortunately for him he has been curtailed by injury this season. He was magnificent for us last year. He had that knee surgery in the first half of the season and it held him back this year. We are going to trim the squad,” said Neil Lennon after the 1-0 win over St Johnstone.

LEDLEY: DON’T WORRY

Joe Ledley has said that Celtic should not be worried too much about the disappointment in the old firm derby recently. Celtic came into the latest old firm derby with the belief that they can claim the title from Rangers at the home ground of their arch rivals. However, they were stunned after they slipped to a 3-2 defeat. There were expectations of a comeback after two goals in 2 min from Celtic in the last few minutes. However, they simply could not get the third goal, which would have completed a stunning comeback. As it is, Celtic have to wait one more week in order to claim the title from Rangers.

Rangers will taking on Motherwell on Saturday. It is a game that will determine the title celebration for Celtic, as Celtic have the opportunity to lift the title depending upon the result at Motherwell. Celtic will be hosting St Johnstone on Sunday, and could be champions by the time. Celtic come into the match against St Johnstone after having suffered back-to-back defeats. The first defeat came in the Scottish Communities League Cup final, in which they lost to Kilmarnock. The second of 3-2 defeat at the hands of Rangers was even more hard to take, but Joe Ledley has urged Celtic to return to winning ways as soon as possible.

“We’re going to have another opportunity to prove ourselves and hopefully get a win. We just need to concentrate on the three points. We weren’t happy with how things went on Sunday, but we need to pick ourselves up and go again. They were fantastic. They are the best support in Scotland without a doubt and were fantastic on Sunday,” Joe Ledley said ahead of the match with St Johnstone. Celtic currently have an 18 point advantage at the top of the table.