NEIL Lennon is looking forward to another exciting UEFA Europa League group-stage campaign after the draw pitted his Celtic side with AC Milan, Lille and Sparta Prague in Group H.

The Italian giants will visit Glasgow on October 22 on matchday one, and it’s a match that the Celtic manager and his players are looking forward to.

Having previously faced AC Milan as both Celtic player and manager, Neil Lennon knows how tough those encounters will be, but having steered his side to back-to-back wins against Lazio in last season’s competition – including the club’s first ever win on Italian soil – he knows this squad will give everything again this time around to replicate that success.

Speaking exclusively to Celtic TV about the Europa League draw, the Celtic manager said: “We’ve got so much to look forward to, and the group draw is fantastic. It’s almost like a Champions League group with the quality of the team that are in there, so it’s very exciting.

“It’s very similar to the group we had last season, with Rennes, Lazio and Cluj, so I think that experience of last season will stand us in good stead. Obviously we’re hoping we can get some supporters into the stadiums, if UEFA’s broadside is anything to go by, and that’s something we’ll peruse.

“But in terms of the quality of our opponents, and the quality of the tempo of the games, then we couldn’t have asked for much better really. People will say it’s a tough draw, but it’s exciting, it’s sexy and it’s something the players are relishing.”

Celtic won their Europa League group last season, the first time the Hoops had won a group in either that competition or the Champions League, and that is the aim again this time around.

And having successfully delivered European group-stage football for a tenth consecutive year, Neil Lennon is hoping his team can build on the experience they gained in the previous campaign.

“We’re on a really good winning run at the minute and we want to carry that on into Europe,” he said. “It’s important for the club to have European football, whether that be financially or from a football standpoint.

“For the development of the players, as individuals and as a team, that really sets us up nicely, and whilst there are a lot of games, it’s something we can really get our teeth into. And like I say, it’s the hard yards that we’ve done. It was a big relief to get over the line and now we can be excited about the season.”

Neil Lennon: It's another top-quality Europa League group for us