NEIL Lennon has admitted tomorrow night’s (Wednesday) trip to Livingston in the Scottish Premiership won’t be easy, but is confident in his side’s ability to return to Glasgow with maximum points.

Doing so would maintain their 12-point lead at the top of the table, and the manager pointed to the fact that Celtic have failed to score in three visits to the Tony Macaroni Arena as something that will give his players even more incentive to perform at such an important point in the season.

“It will be a tough game, there’s no question of that,” said Neil Lennon. “Livingston’s home form is excellent, they’re a big and strong team, and we’re under no illusions how difficult the game is going to be.

“Their style of play can be direct, they have a good energy and we have to overcome that, match what they throw at us and then better it. We’ve got to be at our best, we’ve got to be focused and physically strong.”

Neil Lennon said every match from now until the end of the season is an obstacle, and said it’s up to him and his backroom staff to get the best from their players every single day. Keeping the squad as fresh and injury-free as possible plays a big part in that, as is focusing squarely on each match as it comes.

Despite their sustained domestic success in recent years, the manager said nothing about the current crop of players surprises him from an achievement perspective, noting he's been consistently pleased with their ability to perform under any circumstance.

Sunday’s Scottish Cup win against St Johnstone marked one of the Hoops' grittier performances of late, and the Irishman expects a similarly hard-fought encounter at the Tony Macaroni Arena tomorrow night.

He added: “We’re under no illusions, it’s going to be a battle. We have to earn the right to win in Livingston. We’ll have to roll our sleeves up and do the business on Wednesday.”

Neil Lennon: We won’t underestimate Livingston away from home