AHEAD of Celtic’s eighth consecutive Flag Day at Paradise, Neil Lennon praised the magnitude of the club’s Treble Treble win, before turning his attention to the new campaign.

The Hoops host St Johnstone at Celtic Park this Saturday as they kick off competitive domestic action for another year, and the manager said he’s been impressed with side’s pre-season progress so far.

“We’re all excited to get the new campaign underway,” said Neil Lennon. “It’s been a productive six weeks. We’ve negotiated the first ties in Champions League, which means we’ve done well given it’s so early.

“We’ve asked the players, whether this is your first, fifth, eighth league campaign, have you got the hunger to go again? We’ve done that, and they have the hunger and they’re ready to go. I’m pleased with the balance of the squad and the collective and individual performances we’ve seen so far.”

Neil Lennon highlighted Ryan Christie, Mikey Johnston and the returning Leigh Griffiths for specific praise. With adjustments to formation and tactics in mind, the manager said he’ll approach each game as it comes, and reckons the progress his side has shown means they could be stronger now than ever.

He added: “You need to look at the balance of the game. I wouldn’t call it tinkering but being flexible, when we change our formation or tactics. It’s always good to have the opposition managers and players having to think about what we’re going to do.

“I also think we’ve strengthened in areas where we’ve needed to. We’ve got Leigh Griffiths almost at full strength. Mikey Johnston is making great progress, Ryan Christie has been immense, and we could be stronger than we were last season.

“I see Ryan either playing attacking-mid in a 4-3-3, playing either side of the holding midfielder, or off the striker. He can adapt and play very well in both positions, and I’m delighted with what I’ve seen from him so far, not just his goals but also his all-round play.

“He’s a great professional, he’s had some horrendous injuries, and I think the best is still to come over the course of the next three or four seasons.

“This team has done very well in the past few years but that’s in the past now. Now, we focus on the campaign ahead and that starts with St Johnstone at the weekend.”

Manager: Treble was incredible but now we focus on the future