Hitting the wall

Celtic’s preparations for tonight’s champions League clash with Basle have been hit by the campaign of bigotry against midfielder Neil Lennon. It is an issue which manager Martin O’Neill has faced head on as Simon Lewis reports.

MARTIN O'NEILL has had a tendency to joke about his early international career as a young Catholic man playing for Northern Ireland. He was fond of quipping that he would soak up all the sectarian abuse hurled in his direction at Windsor Park before exiting the dressing room and going out to face the crowd.

Given the circumstances of the last week concerning Neil Lennon's decision to quit international football with the same side following a sectarian death threat, one suspects the Celtic manager will be less enthusiastic about keeping that particular tale in his after-dinner repertoire. More importantly, he now has to work overtime to keep his midfielder focused on playing his part in another crucial week for Celtic's continuing search for European success.