Thursday 25 February 2010

Lennon rules out return of Reserve League


Neil Lennon has ruled out any move from Celtic to revive the SPL Reserves.
Celtic were against the demise of the Reserve League at the end of last season but after picking up the pieces and arranging a variety of friendlies Lennon doesn't see much purpose in a return to the old ways.
The weather at Shamrock Rovers Tallaght Stadium was much like Airdrie's New Broomfield on a Tuesday afternoon but with over 5,000 supporters present there was a good edge to the game.
It was the fifth time that Lennon has taken his development squad to Ireland this season with the former club captain delighted by the progress he's been witnessing.
"The fact that we are playing games like this rather than in the Reserve League I feel is far far more beneficial for everyone," Lennon admitted after the Shamrock Rovers match.
"I don't know how much we would gain out of a Reserve League.
"We've won it eight years in a row but there's been nothing (playerwise) knocking on the door for a while.
"This season we've gone to England to play Blackburn, Everton, Chelsea, Huddersfield and Newcastle.
"In Ireland we've played Cork, Drogheda and now Shamrock Rovers and the only disappointment for us this season was against Cliftonville when we lost 3-0 but we've not lost a game since then.
"We're making great inroads and I'm really pleased with the maturity and confidence of the players.
"They are playing against different opponents, Shamrock Rovers had a lot of mature experienced players and the English opponents that we've played have been good tests for our players."
Mixing together the needs of emerging u-19 players like Richie Towell and James Forrest with keeping up the fitness levels of Mark Wilson and Paul Caddis can be demanding.
American 'keeper Dominic Cervi, Lithuanian Anton Vallers and Filip Twardzik from the Czech Republic were amongst those involved against Shamrock Rovers as they attempt to develop their Celtic careers.
As a player Lennon led from the front with a verbal bite as sharp as his tackling and while he has to adapt a slightly softer approach to his coaching job he admits that it's impossible to forget the old ways.
"I don't think that you can change your spots," he added. "Sometimes I have to look at the players personalities and weight up what players can and can't take.
"Sometimes I get a good reaction from them and other times it's a bad reaction, I put that down to experience but I am what I am. I like to win and try to transmit that over to the players as well.
"I've got an interesting group of players to work with, we're trying to mold them into a unit while changing the team regularly.
"Jason Marr played his first full game in a while and Declan Gallagher also came in for his first match, there are some really good players bubbling under.
"They need wee reminders now and then but I try not to overload them with too much, I have to let them breathe and express themselves out on the pitch.
"The manager wants to see an expansive game and we encourage them to play as much as they can while working hard for the full 90 minutes.
"I'm enjoying this role more than I maybe anticipated, it's great to be helping players out as they start off in the game, we've got a lot of potential coming through at this club."

No comments: