CELTIC launch the defence of the League Cup this weekend with a home tie against Ross County, and Neil Lennon is hoping it will also be the launch pad for a consistent run of positive performances and results.

Sunday’s match is the first of nine games for the Hoops between now and the end of 2020, and the aim is to book a place in the quarter-finals of a competition that Celtic have won for the past four seasons. A victory would also represent Celtic's 36th consecutive domestic cup-tie win.

And in the midst of a sticky period for the team, with two wins and three draws in their last nine games, the Celtic manager is confident that the players will recapture the form and confidence which has served them so well up to now.

“We had a long chat after the Sparta game, which was really productive,” Neil Lennon said. “I just believe that they will find their consistency and their qualities really soon. We have to now make real inroads in domestic duties.

'We’re starting the defence of the League Cup and we want to progress into the next round and take it from there.'

“I’m disappointed with the result on Thursday night and the run of results that we’ve had recently but we’re very determined to turn things around. I don’t think it will take that much.

“We had a long chat after the game and I’ve had a long chat with Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond today (Friday), and we’re totally united, we’re totally together and we’re totally determined that we’ll make this into a good season.

“You have to keep trusting the players, keep talking to them, keep believing in them and keep showing them what they’re doing well and maybe what they’re not doing so well they can do better. So it’s not a question of constantly hounding them or criticizing them. They’re going to get that from all quarters of the media and social media anyway.

'What they need now is my support, the coaches’ support and give them plenty of energy and belief that they’re really good players. They’ve proved that time and time again. Class is permanent, form is temporary. That’s what I believe, I’ve always believed in that and I think they’ll come good sooner rather than later.'

Having had no domestic fixtures at Celtic Park in November, the Hoops now have five games at Paradise ahead of them, starting with Sunday’s League Cup tie with Ross County. It’s a game that the squad are looking forward to, giving them an opportunity to get back to winning ways following a couple of disappointing results in the past week.

“I want to go with our strongest team possible,” the manager said. “These players – they always have to prove something. Every game, every day. That’s the life of being at Celtic. They’re hurting and they’re not enjoying this one bit.

“All I want from them now is consistency of performance. I think they’re not far away from getting that, it’s been a difficult run, but I think we’ll come out of this stronger than ever. We’ve got a lot of games coming through December so hopefully we can get this consistency of team selection.”

Manager: We will rediscover our consistency