AHEAD of tonight’s UEFA Champions League second round qualifier against Ferencvaros at Paradise, Neil Lennon recalled the last time Celtic faced Hungarian opposition back during his playing days.

In the play-off round of the 2003/04 Champions League, the Hoops overcame MTK Hungaria 5-0 on aggregate – winning 4-0 away from home, courtesy of goals from Henrik Larsson, Didier Agathe, Stiliyan Petrov and Chris Sutton, and prevailing 1-0 via a solo strike from the latter Englishman in Glasgow.

The manager didn’t play in the return leg, but remembers a tough game despite the scoreline 17 years ago.

Speaking to the Celtic View, he said: “We had a really good win away from home, we won 4-0 over there, but I wasn’t involved the home leg, which we also won 1-0. I remember a sprinkler going off in the middle of the game. That was one of those strange moments that sticks in your head. That tie was 5-0 altogether over the course. We’d take something similar in any game we play this season, that’s for sure.

“The qualifiers are really difficult games, though. We’ve got Ferencvaros, who had a good win against Djurgarden last week. Their away record last year in the Europa League was pretty impressive, so, again, it’s going to be a tough game. We’re going to miss that home support, which is always vital for us, but the incentives are there for us.

“Hopefully, we can negotiate the tie. It might take a bit of patience, they’re very well-organised, they’ve got a bit of quality in the final third, so it’s definitely an opponent that we’ll need to be well prepared against.”

Speaking of the single-leg structure of this season’s early Champions League qualifiers, Neil Lennon said he and his players must approach them with focus and confidence, just like any other cup game.

He added: “In terms of what we need to do on the pitch, the single leg stuff is really no different from any other year, to be honest, we need to play well on the night and hope that we handle the big moments in the game.

“In terms of the wider occasion, it’s not the same without the atmosphere, but we’re adapting as well as we can. Naturally, we lose that extra edge that the home support would normally give us, but the fact that we’re at home, it’s pleasing, and hopefully we can utilise that to our maximum advantage.”

Manager recalls previous test against Hungarian opposition