THERE are two priorities for Neil Lennon between now and the end of the season.

The first is to blood as many of Celtic's developing young talents as possible and see if they have what it takes at first-team level.

The second is to assess how good the fringe players are and whether the likes of Amido Balde and Teemu Pukki can go on to offer a significant contribution next season or if they should be moved on in the summer.

I was delighted to see Liam Henderson scoring his first goal for Celtic in the game at Thistle the other night. At 17 he looks like he could be a special talent in the making and the good news for Celtic is that they have a few of these Bhoys coming through.

Darnell Fisher is another youngster who has had the chance to feature in the first team for a reasonably extended spell due to injury problems, and he has taken that opportunity.

Holmbert Fridjonsson and Filip Twardzik were both on the bench against St Mirren at the weekend and it would be nice to see these lads get their chance in the closing weeks of the campaign.

On the flip side of that coin I think Neil needs to take a long look at the likes of Balde and Nir Biton.

The jury is still out on Pukki, too.

So Neil's selections from now until then will make fascinating reading and, I would imagine, reveal just how he is thinking when it comes to next time around.

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