 There will be a minute's applause at Parkhead today before the game against Hearts to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the death of the club's legendary former manager Jock Stein, who died at Ninian Park in Cardiff, while managing the national side which drew with Wales to qualify for the play-offs for the 1986 World Cup final. Neil Lennon recognises that he and all other Celtic managers will be very lucky to get even close to match the big man's achievements. However, Lennon has defended the apparent dilution of the Scottish identity of the club which characterised Jock Stein's all-conquering time at the club during the 1960s and 70s. Stein most famously won the European Cup in 1967 with a team of players born within a 30-mile radius of Glasgow. These days, Lennon has only a handful of Scots-born players in his squad and he only signed one, Charlie Mulgrew, during the transfer window out of the 11 he signed. Lennon is not lookng to redress the Scottish-rest of the world balance and confirmed he has invited 18-year-old Trinidad and Tobago star Shahdon Winchester on trial and that he is still interested in out-of-contract Nigeria defender Danny Shittu. However, he insists changing circumstances in football has dictated the club's signing policy. He said: "I'm happy with the Scottish boys I've got. Shaun Maloney is playing very well, Scott Brown is playing very well as is young James Forrest. They are talented players, allied to Mark Wilson who is a good professional and a consistent performer and Charlie Mulgrew can be a consistent performer. So I'm happy with the boys in the first team squad. But the game has gone global. There has been a big shift in the game even since I started playing in 1987. The doors opened in the mid-90s and you have to be aware of the financial ramifications and players, for whatever reasons, are cheaper when we look abroad in other markets. But we still have a strong Scottish theme running through the club and we aim to maintain that. We aim to maintain that through the academy and we aim to maintain that through the first team. We were linked with a few Scottish internationals in the transfer window and who is to say that come January we won't be looking at more Scottish players coming in." Lennon accepts that Stein will forever be the benchmark for Celtic managers. He said: "He is the greatest manager in the club's history and one of the greatest managers in football history. He's an iconic fixture at the club and he is one that we all aspire to get even close to. If you look back at his record in the 1960s and 70s, it is nothing short of remarkable. It is right that the club should remember him." |