Former Celtic player and manager Neil Lennon is hoping his Hibernian side hurt the Hoops when both teams meet at Celtic Park on Saturday afternoon.
Last term, the Northern Irish boss helped the Hibees to the Scottish Championship title and promotion back to the Scottish Premiership after a 3-season absence in his first season.
Lennon’s side have lost just 1 of 7 league games thus far, winning and drawing 3 apiece, and he believes his players have got what it takes to hurt Celtic, although he admits winning against “the best team in Scotland by a country mile” will require a lot of bravery in the attacking third from his men.
Celtic have proven their invincibility on the domestic front over and over again in the last 16 months, and a win over Hibernian will see them extend an impressive unbeaten record run to 58 games.
Breaking the record isn’t the priority of Saturday’s visitors, though, as Lennon claims: “It will end at some stage.
“If we were to break it, so be it. But that wouldn’t make me any happier. It would be a fantastic win and three points, that’s all I am thinking about.”
On his side’s chances of leaving Parkhead with all 3 points, the Hibs boss said: “We are playing the best team in Scotland by a country mile, who are off the back of two fantastic results this week.
“We have to respect them, compete and not just roll over. I’m hoping we don’t just sit in and kick the ball long and let it keep coming back. We have to be brave in the final third as well.
“I watched St Johnstone play there a few weeks ago and get a great result. They played really well and probably merited the point. If we can replicate that I’ll be delighted.
“I like to think we have players who can hurt them. I want to hurt them. I want them to be positive. These opportunities don’t come round very often. Don’t just enjoy it, make the most of it and try to come away with a good performance and a good result.”
