Bhoys not going on Spanish holiday
The Parkhead men trail their star-studded hosts at the top of Group G by two points after two games but few expect an away win, even though Barca coach Tito Vilanova has something of a defensive crisis with Daniel Alves, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique and Eric Abidal all expected to be missing.
The Hoops boss acknowledged the magnitude of the task but is keen to ensure his players go into the game in the right frame of mind. It is exciting times for the players, club and supporters,” he said.
“But we are not here for a holiday. We are not here for the tourist attractions. We are here to play football. We are in for a tough 90 minutes but we want Barcelona to be in for a tough 90 minutes.
“We need character and mental strength and allied to that the players need to play at the peak of their abilities to overcome what is probably the best team in the world at the minute.”
Lennon, however, admits Celtic’s first away win in the Champions League against Spartak Moscow in Russia earlier in the month, where Georgios Samaras headed a late winner in the 3-2 victory, has taken some of the pressure off his side.
He said: “There is always pressure going into any game but what we have done is give ourselves a nice cushion, a platform. Maybe we didn’t visualise getting a result in Moscow but this is the ultimate test, away from home against Barcelona.
“We haven’t really budgeted for anything out of this game but who knows?
“The players are young and fearless. There is a bit of naivety about them at times but there is plenty of international experience and we saw that in Moscow.”
Lennon watched Lionel Messi score a hat-trick for Barcelona in their 5-4 win over against Deportivo La Coruna at the weekend.
The former Celtic skipper, however, believes the Argentinean is only one, albeit the most potent, of the threats his side will face.
“You can man mark but he still finds a way,” he continued. “It was a privilege to watch him live for the first time on Saturday night, he was exceptional.
“I don’t think I can come up with any superlative to do the man justice.
“But again, we can’t just concentrate on Messi, they have Pedro who was impressive when he came on, I thought Fabregas was brilliant and they swapped him for Xavi and they also have Iniesta.
“So the list of players who are a potential threat is more or less endless but obviously Messi is that bit special.
“We can only concentrate on what we are going to do. We came here with hope rather than expectation.
“We are in confident form, we got a great result against Spartak Moscow in the last game so we have nothing to lose.”
For his part, Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova is worried his makeshift defence will struggle against Celtic’s pace and aerial power at the Nou Camp.
After conceding four goals at the weekend, midfielders Alex Song and Javier Mascherano look set to form a makeshift central defence again.
Vilanova tried to play down the significance of his injuries but admitted to concerns about the Scottish champions.
“Injuries are normally a headache for a coach but we have got what we have got,” he said.
“And all the players are at the right level to play for Barcelona. We would like to improve on everything and score more and concede less and we will try to do that.
“But all Champions League games are complicated and I am worried because Celtic are very fast up front and they proved it against Spartak.
“They play good, counter-attacking football so we know they are dangerous.
“They are also good in the air and so I am really worried about that.
“Celtic tied with Benfica and beat Spartak in Moscow which was a good thing for them.
“At the beginning people maybe did not take into account of the possibility of Celtic going through but with four points from two games and two games at home to go, they have a chance.”
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