AS Neil Lennon prepares for his side’s trip to Ayrshire to face Alex Dyer’s Kilmarnock on Sunday, the manager admitted Rugby Park is always a difficult venue to visit.

The last time Celtic played Kilmarnock on the road was back in January, when goals from Odsonne Edouard, Leigh Griffiths and Christopher Jullien gave the champions a 3-1 win.

The Hoops go into the weekend’s encounter following last Sunday’s emphatic 5-1 Flag Day win over Hamilton Accies, whereas Killie lost 2-1 to Hibernian at Easter Road.

“I thought Kilmarnock were unfortunate to lose the game,” said Neil Lennon. "They had a lot of possession against Hibs. We know that Rugby Park as a venue is a difficult place to go, really difficult.

"Alex is a very good coach. He’s got that foundation that Steve Clarke built up, even if Angelo Alessio was there between them. They’re a team I respect, they’ve got solid players and tactically they’re difficult to break down.”

The manager said he was pleased his players have had a full week of preparation under their belts for Sunday’s game, especially given how fixture-heavy the Scottish football calendar gets from here on.

He added: “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.”

Neil Lennon: Rugby Park is always a difficult place to visit