Neil Lennon has no intention of a delivering a repeat performance of how be acted the last time he visited Tynecastle. Celtic need to win tonight to take the SPL title race to the last weekend and take on Hearts who have secured third place thanks to Rangers beating Dundee United last night. Last November, Lennon was sent to the stands by referee Craig Thomson after clashing with fourth official Steven McLean during a 2-0 defeat, and was then charged with excessive misconduct by the SFA who handed down a four-game suspension was added to the automatic two-game ban, although that was reduced to four game in total on appeal. Lennon has vowed to keep cool, although he knows temperatures will rise as soon as he emerges from the tunnel.
He said: "I look at my previous performance at Tynecastle and I know I don't want any repeat of what went on then. I need to keep cool because I have to be there for my players. I understand the need to rein in my behaviour so that I don't provoke anybody. But the fact that I walk out onto the perimeter of the pitch is enough to get some fans going, in my experience."
Lennon is passionate about football and Celtic winning. His frustrations can spill over from time to time as evidenced by last Wednesday's trip to Inverness. When a penalty claim was turned down late in the game, Lennon booted a drinks container into the air, with the incident replayed regularly on television. He went on: "I look at that incident and I laugh and wince at the same time. It was a reflex action and I won't be the first, or last, to do it. I've learned from that and I hope my players have taken on board that they can't play as badly as they did in the first 15 minutes of the second half that were so costly for us. But sometimes my mere presence can be all it takes to get some sets of fans going. It'll be a feisty atmosphere on this occasion in Edinburgh and the Hearts faithful will be right up for the game. I'm looking forward to it for that reason. It can be edgy between their fans and ours and that'll make for a tense night. But there's no need for my team to feel pressure or any sense of intimidation. These guys have played all over the world. We'll be going there to win the game."