NEIL LENNON rubbed shoulders with football's coaching elite in Geneva.

But he admits he would have been embarrassed even to be in their company if Celtic had not overcome Shakhter Karagandy to book their place in the Champions League.

"It meant so much to go there, knowing we are in the Champions League," said the Hoops boss as he recounted attending the annual coaches' convention.

"I'd have been going with a red face had we gone out to perceived lesser opposition in the Kazakhstan champions.

"It's little things like that which add up.

"Going there as a Champions League manager just gives you a little bit more gravitas."

The opportunity to chew the fat during the international break with the likes of Manuel Pellgirini, Arsene Wenger, Rafa Benitez, Jorge Jesus, Andres Villas-Boas, and Uefa president Michel Platini, was eagerly accepted by Lennon whose thirst for knowledge shows no signs of being quenched three years after he stepped up into management.

He picked their brains on a range of diverse subjects including how to cope with balancing playing midweek in the Champions League and weekends in domestic leagues, through to refereeing and financial fair play.

Lennon also gave his tuppence worth, and is now happy to be back at his work and ready to put what he has learned into practise, starting at Tynecastle tomorrow then in the San Siro on Wednesday.

"Just to sit in that company and listen to these guys, their experiences of their club careers, was absolutely brilliant," he reflected.

"There was talk about the Champions League, its format, financial fair play, refereeing - which I was very interested in.

"It was a fantastic experience for me.

"There was a live link to Sir Alex Ferguson as well from Old Trafford. He still has a huge influence on things.

"I think Michel Platini has introduced this as he's a football man and wants to help managers along the way.

"If there's anything the managers feel needs changing, he will try and push that through."

Lennon believes that it is confirmation of Celtic's return to European prominence that he is now included in the invitation list.

He said: "You turn up and are sitting at dinner with Rafa Benetiz, Antonio Conte and Andre Villas-Boas.

"It was very, very cordial and just a great experience.

"I found Benitez to be a very affable guy, which is probably different from his public persona. He was very, very good with me."

Networking comes easily to Lennon, and he believes there is no better forum in which to add to his knowledge and contacts base.

"It's like the United Nations," he said.

"You sit in a big room around a big desk with your headphones on and interpreters all sitting through the back.

"There's a big screen and topics coming up, then it's thrown open to the floor.

"It was interesting hearing everyone's perspective on things.

"These Eastern European guys have their problems in terms of the logistics of travelling.

"They might play a game in Russia, play away on a Wednesday night, then go back to Russia and travel another three hours for a domestic game.

"You feel you've got problems, but sometimes you are better off then others."

Speaking of travelling, Lennon will be collecting another batch of air miles over the next few days as he, Johan Mjallby and Garry Parker will fly by private jet to Turin immediately after Celtic's game at Tynecastle today to watch AC Milan play Torino.

"It's important you go and watch them live," he said.

"You have to be able to see how they set up defensively and what they are like on the counter-attack.

"You look at how the forward players interact with each other."

Lennon is demanding his players send him away with another win under their belts, and has no plans to pick a lightweight side to face Hearts.

"Contrary to a lot of belief, we have not got the biggest of squads," he explained.

"I want to win the game against Hearts and to go into the Milan game in good heart.

"It is always difficult after the international break to pick up where you left off, and we were all on a high after the Karagandy then Dundee United wins."

He went on: "I have only been working with the players for one day this week. Efe Ambrose is going to meet us in Edinburgh, and Emilio Izaguirre has not trained because of his travelling.

"Teemu Pukki only came in yesterday and is in the squad for Tynecastle.

"So, it's always a difficult balancing act after internationals and with the games coming up. But we will go strong.

"I don't want to leave any players out at Tynecastle. We should have enough recovery time between Saturday and Wednesday in Milan.

"I don't want to drop any points. I don't want to lose any games in the league.

"I want to go into Milan with our confidence up after a decent performance at Tynecastle.

"It's a great game for us to have now.

"Last season, I got the feeling maybe some of the players were saving themselves for the Champions League games.

"I've made it pretty clear that, if I detect that this year, then there is a distinct possibility they won't play in the Champions League.

"Now, I'm not giving out ultimatums. I just think it's important they play at full steam in the league games.

"They have got plenty of time to recover."