Celtic Boss Says Don't Underestimate Us

Celtic boss Neil Lennon acknowledges their UEFA Champions League last 16 opponents Juventus are full of quality but says his side shouldn’t be underestimated.

The Scottish champions qualified through a difficult group alongside Barcelona, beating off Benfica and Spartak Moscow for second place and now take on the Italian champions at home on Tuesday.

“I think we have been (underestimated) throughout the whole campaign and going into this game we are being made out to be massive underdogs but I don’t quite see it that way myself,” Lennon said.

“There is a real belief, anything can happen over two games. We go into the tie as underdogs but nothing is going to be decided at the end of 90 minutes tomorrow night, it is over two games and we are prepared to play hard football over 180 minutes.”

Lennon added that there was no shortage of quality in the Juve line-up, particularly Alessandro Matri.

“They have excellent strikers - Mirko Vucinic, Fabio Quagliarella, Sebastian Giovinco, and they have also brought in Nicolas Anelka. But the one who has caught my eye is Alessandro Matri, he looks an excellent young player,” he said.

“They are very strong in midfield. Arturo Vidal is playing very well currently, Paul Pogba and Claudio Marchisio, these are class players including Andrea Pirlo who is still one of the finest midfield players in the world. So the team is blessed with fantastic footballers but we knew that before the tie or before any preparation were made.

“But it would be dangerous to underestimate Celtic. We have proved already this season that we can be a match for anyone.’’