The Hoops boss was irked by the manner in which his side failed to turn up against Kilmarnock on Saturday afternoon and he has warned Celtic that they must strive to find a level of consistency.

Their heroic European performances this term have contrasted sharply with some lethargic league form – St Johnstone have also beaten them on SPL duty this term – and Lennon has insisted that he will not hesitate to axe players who fail to live up to the standards he has set.

Scott Brown is set for a return at Celtic Park this evening, while Victor Wanyama will be recalled and the likes of Tony Watt could also be in line for a start as Lennon set his sights on a domestic clean sweep this term.

Brown was rested at the weekend due to an ongoing hip complaint, but his energy and drive were missed badly by a pedestrian Celtic in the defeat to Kilmarnock.

Lennon will field his strongest side tonight against Saints as he looks to recapture the form that Celtic had enjoyed in previous domestic outings against the likes of Motherwell and St Mirren.

"I can't accept the performance that we got on Saturday," he said.

"I'll try and put out as strong a team as possible because I want a positive reaction and, of course, we want to be winning everything that we can. It's a cup game and we want a performance that is befitting of it.

"Saturday just wasn't the result or the performance that I was looking for going into this game tonight. The fact is that we have a lot of football coming up now and I wanted to see players bursting a gut for the team, to show that they're worthy of being in there.

"I thought that Victor needed a rest because he has played a lot of football and, like Scott, who also wanted to play, we felt that with such a heavy schedule coming up that we would like to given them a bit of a break.

"I just didn't see a performance like that coming.

"For some reason we didn't get that at the weekend. I'll certainly be looking for it tonight."

He ADDED: "It is always hard to be beaten at home and I hope it serves as notice of what happens when you are just not up for it.

"I've had a good look at myself too. I do wonder if I made too many changes on Saturday but I felt as though it was a strong team and a strong bench. It is very frustrating when you have that kind of malaise all the way through the team.

"St Johnstone have already beaten us this season, they're on a great run and we need to show a lot more tonight than we did at the weekend.

"We came back down to earth with a bump, that's for sure. It's up to the players now to react and find the kind of form that they've been in for the past few months."

After voicing his frustration at the lack of starts he has been given, on-loan striker Miku was given a starting place on Saturday at the expense of Gary Hooper who was rested.

However, the Englishman was recalled at the interval while Watt later replaced Miku, who didn't help his case for a start with an anonymous display.

Lennon, though, defended the contribution from the Venezuelan international.

"I have some sympathy for him," said the Celtic boss. "He got a start on Saturday but I felt as though he didn't get anywhere near enough support.

"He isn't a major concern but we had a lot of players out there on Saturday who were a million miles off the pace."

Watt injected a bit of energy into proceedings when he arrived, and while Lennon felt the youngster ought to have scored with one chance he blazed over the bar, he has admitted that the teenager has given him some food for thought.

The manager said: "I think he is certainly in contention. He was bright when he came on and we know we always get that from him.

"He had a real good chance that he could have scored with, although I felt as though there was a bit of urgency when he came on. I've something to think about.

"It is good that we have this game tonight against St Johnstone because I want to see a positive reaction."

Performance and result aside, one of the most frustrating elements from the weekend display for Lennon was the apathy from some of the players who don't feature weekly.

There is an opportunity for that to be corrected tonight.

"I feel as though they should be coming in and doing everything to show that they should be in there all the time and I just didn't feel as though we got that," explained Lennon.

"The players have to step up and perform way better than that. It is not about competition for places. We feel as though they are good players who are capable of being in there, but they didn't perform for one reason or another.

"I will spend a bit of time digesting that and finding an answer. It was just a strange one for me."