FOLLOWING last weekend’s impressive 5-1 win over Hamilton at Paradise, Celtic travel to Kilmarnock this Sunday to play Alex Dyer’s Kilmarnock.

Hoops boss Neil Lennon expects an entirely different contest in Ayrshire against a well-organised opponent, and likewise savours a full week of preparation ahead of his side’s first away day of the 2020/21 campaign.

“Kilmarnock have been a great story over the past couple of years,” said the manager in an exclusive interview with th Celtic View. “There has been a bit of transition with the playing staff. I know Alex very well, he’s a very good manager, a great coach, and Kilmarnock away has always been tough.

“We’ll have to adapt accordingly to the conditions, it’s good to have a week to prepare for it, so we’ll get a bit of rest, and come midweek, we’ll be really focused again on what we need to do.

“We had a good result at Rugby Park back in January, we played really well, we had to, and I think this game will be no different again. We’ll focus our minds, we’ll play to the conditions, and will handle the opposition as we need to.”

Reflecting on last Sunday’s emphatic Flag Day win, Neil Lennon was especially pleased with his players’ second half performance – having entered the break 2-1 up, and having returned with three goals without reply in the second period.

He added: “I’m delighted with how they responded at half-time, I’m really, really pleased. At times, when you’ve been away from the game for a while, you can be a bit lethargic. We talk about a second wind, where your legs are a bit heavy and then they come again, and I think we experienced that on Sunday.

“Getting that match rhythm, getting our legs going again, that was a real plus point from the game as well. We looked good, playing with intent and pace and power.

"I wouldn’t say we played tentative in the first half, but maybe playing a little too safe, playing their way into the game. Defensively, we could have done a little bit better, but in the second half we tidied that right up.”

Read the full and exclusive interview with Neil Lennon ONLY in this week's Celtic View. On sale from Wednesday, August 5.

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Celtic View Interview: Neil Lennon prepares for tough Killie contest