Neil Lennon was pleased to see just how well his side played against Hibs in their opening game of the SPL season - but he expects more when they face Aberdeen. Celtic have played four friendlies since the opening win at Easter Road. Although they suffered 2-0 defeats against Wolves, Inter Milan and Swansea, Lennon has used the games to get all of his squad involved and up to the required levels of fitness.Celtic have played eight friendlies in all and Lennon feels his players should be able to shine at Pittodrie.
Lennon, who this week lost Glenn Loovens to a hamstring injury, said: "It will be a tough away game but I'm hoping the players will be up to speed by then - they should be with the football we've had. I've just tried to balance things off with not over-exerting them with the games and just trying to keep as many of them fresh for the game as we can."
Aberdeen have not made the brightest of starts and have yet to score in the new league season, drawing with St Johnstone and being outplayed in defeat at St Mirren Park. But Lennon is wary of their wily and experienced managerial partnership, who have set about rebuilding their team to be more resilient this summer. Lennon said: "They have a good blend of experience and youth there. They are very good players, and I know they've lost (Chris) Maguire, (Paul) Hartley and (Sone) Aluko. But Archie Knox and Craig Brown are very experienced managers and I think they will improve a lot from last season. They haven't got off to a great start but it's very early days and I'm sure there will be an improvement from Aberdeen as the season goes on."