 Neil Lennon has experienced the pain of losing to lower league opposition both as a manager and player. He is therefore well prepared to take on Berwick rangers tomorrow at Shielfield Park. He will have made sure his players are not about to take the Scottish Cup forth round tie lightly. The Third Division club are massive underdogs for the game but that does not matter in the cup. Lennon was in the Celtic side which lost 1-0 at Inverness in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup in March 2003 and was in the midfield three seasons later when they were sensationally dumped out of the same competition 2-1 by Clyde at Broadwood. Lennon was interim boss last season when First Division Ross County dramatically knocked Celtic out of the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden and he lambasted his players afterwards. The Irishman is desperate to ensure that experience is not repeated. He said: "Upsets can happen on any given day and I've been involved in one or two myself. But I don't think the players need me to tell them how important the game is or the consequences if they don't perform to their capabilities. Some of the players played against Ross County and I made my feelings clear afterwards because it wasn't the first time they had performed as poorly as that throughout the season. If it had been a one-off we could have accepted it but that wasn't the case and we don't want to repeat it. It would be a huge upset, no doubt about it, but it can happen. As a manager you are always thinking of the negatives going into games and how you try to avoid them. It's a cup tie, the cameras are going to be there and they are looking for a potential upset but the mindset of the players at the moment means they are looking forward to whatever game comes their way. There is a confidence about them and they look in good nick." Despite losing to County, Lennon was handed the manager's job at Parkhead on a permanent basis in the summer and believes he is now better prepared for a cup tie against lower-league opposition. He said: "I wouldn't compare this game to the Ross County game. I had only two games in charge before that game and I've now had 30-odd games. I wouldn't say I was long in the tooth in the management game but I know the players better, they know me better and they know what's expected of them. It's important that they are as professional as they can be and prepare as best they can, which they have done this week." Lennon could give new signing Freddie Ljungberg, who missed the 2-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox last Sunday with a virus, his Celtic debut on Sunday. He said: "He is certainly in contention. He is in good nick and has trained for a full week and so he has certainly come into contention." Lennon highlighted the qualities which have attracted him to Erik Huseklepp and confirmed that Toronto midfielder Dwayne De Rosario is still training at the club. He said: "Huseklepp's representatives were in yesterday and negotiations are ongoing. He's a wee bit different, he can stretch teams and can play anywhere along the front line as well. He's quick, powerful and to use a cliche he's got good feet for a big man. He's very comfortable, makes good runs from deep, is very direct and has improved a hell of a lot in the last couple of seasons. De Rosario has done fine. He played in a bounce game on Wednesday and he trained on Friday and he will be here for another week." |