NEIL Lennon was naturally disappointed with the 4-1 defeat to Sparta Prague in the Czech capital, but it was a result the Celtic manager believes does not reflect the overall pattern of the game.

And he saw enough positives in the 90 minutes, both in the first half and then after the break when the Hoops dominated proceedings as they searched for an equaliser, to believe that the players can and will turn the team’s fortunes around.

Still, he knows that part of that upturn in fortunes will mean working hard to stop conceding poor goals from a defensive point of view.

Speaking after the game, the Celtic manager said: “I think the scoreline doesn’t do the performance justice. I thought we started the game well but, again, we’ve conceded from a set-play, which is bitterly disappointing. Then for their second goal, we could have dealt with the cross better.

'But our reaction after half-time, for 35 minutes I thought we were absolutely excellent and deserved to at least be on parity with Sparta. Then we got done on the counter-attack for the third goal which is disappointing from our point of view.'

“So things aren’t dropping for us at the minute, unfortunately, at either end. Overall, it was a disappointing result but there were a lot of positives to come out of the performance.”

The game in Prague started well for Celtic, and Odsonne Edouard gave the Hoops the lead on 16 minutes, but the home side scored twice in either half to replicate the scoreline they had recorded at Celtic Park earlier in the month.

“We could maybe have secured the lead for a little bit longer to give us a bit more of a foothold in the game,” Neil Lennon said. “We scored a brilliant goal and looked dangerous at times, but defensively, we have to, again, be better as a unit.

"I’m just disappointed. I’m disappointed for the players. We have work to do. We’ve had a long chat with the players. They’re feeling it, so it’s important that we don’t get too down about things.

'The players are very much wanting to turn things around, they’ve very much united and they know they can perform better, individually and collectively, and that’s what we believe in as well.'

“We will get better, we know that, the players know that. They’ve got a huge amount of pride in themselves and in the club, and at the minute they’re not doing themselves justice – they know that, and they know they will be better, and we will be better.

“I’ve had tougher spells than this as a player and as a manager. The results aren’t great but, again, you can’t get carried away. I thought we put a good team out tonight, I thought they played well for large parts of the game and I felt the scoreline flattered Sparta, but that’s the way things are going for us at the minute, and we need to make our own luck, if you want to call it that.

“But there’s no shortage of passion and hard work or giving anything up. We threw the kitchen sink at it towards the end to try and get something positive out of the game, and we got punished for that, but I’m not going to criticize the players for that.

'I thought for 35 minutes of the second half we were excellent, and we should have equalised. We had good chances to equalise and we deserved better out of the game.'

"That’s the way I see it and the way the players feel about it, and they’re determined and honest enough to know that they can do better and they can turn things around.”

Neil Lennon: We can do better and we will get better