Neil Lennon said he was disappointed not take all three points against Aberdeen, but added that Celtic are edging closer to rekindling their form as some key players near their return to the squad.

Celtic were held to a 3-3 draw at Pittodrie after Aberdeen were awarded a penalty in injury-time. The champions showed their character to twice come from behind in the game but were unfortunate to concede a second penalty in the closing moments.

Neil Lennon admitted Celtic had to improve defensively but added he was pleased with what he saw from his side in an attacking sense.

“When you score three goals away from home you should be winning the game," he said. "The goals are really poor from our point of view. We need to be a lot more defensive-minded and a lot more solid, particularly for the third goal. He’s danced around three or four of us and that’s unacceptable from our point of view. We need to show a lot more urgency there and a lot more defensive capabilities.

“We gave away a really poor goal just before half-time and it’s come from our free-kick. We should have played it to the strikers or played it forward but we played ourselves into a little bit of trouble and we were sloppy with the penalty.

“There are a lot of positives to take from the game. In the second half, there was a great reaction. They were terrific and we scored three really good goals and I’m delighted with the subs' impact as well.

"It’s disappointing that we’re a little bit fragile with the confidence at the minute but that will come. There are a lot of things to work on but there are a lot of things that pleased me about the game. I’m bitterly disappointed we’ve dropped points.”

Neil Lennon said he was pleased with Leigh Griffiths, who scored Celtic’s second equaliser, and Tom Rogic, who contributed two assists. And the Celtic manager is optimistic that the team as a whole will improve its form, particularly with some key faces returning to the team.

“Callum’s and Griffs' goal were fantastic," the manager said. "Callum again had an outstanding game. I thought Rogic was very good as well and that gives me a lot of comfort. A few of them are still trying to find their best form consistently. Going forward we looked like a good team, but defensively we're making too many mistakes, whether it be individually or collectively.

“If we can win in Lille and we go and play strongly, which we’re capable of doing, it opens the whole group up again. We’re just one performance away from it all kicking back into place. We’ll be stronger with Odsonne available for selection, and Nir and Elhamed as well.”

Neil Lennon: We can take positives from Pittodrie draw