NEIL Lennon believes Celtic can be caught in the Ladbrokes Premiership and toppled as Scottish champions – if they beat Zenit St Petersburg and remain in the Europa League.
Rangers moved to within nine points of their city rivals with a 5-2 thrashing of Hamilton at the Superseal Stadium on Sunday.
The league leaders, preparing for the second leg of their last 32 tie with Zenit in Russia on Thursday night, were held to a 0-0 draw at Parkhead by St. Johnstone.
Lennon, now in charge at fourth-placed Premiership club Hibernian, led the Glasgow club to three consecutive Scottish titles during his time in charge.
He believes Brendan Rodgers’s team is still strong favourites to win a seventh consecutive league crown in the 2017/18 campaign.
But the Northern Irishman feels that remaining in Europe will open the door for Rangers, Aberdeen or even his Hibs team to challenge them for the silverware.
“I still think Celtic will win the league,” said Lennon. “But it’s nine points with 12 games to go – so why not?”
"Brendan prioritised Thursday night with his team selection on Sunday, I get that. Actually, they have come out a point better off. They are nine points clear whereas they were eight points clear going into the weekend.
“It is going to be very difficult for the chasing pack, but why not? You could say there is a title race on. Rangers, Aberdeen, ourselves, the teams behind, we need to find consistency if there is going to be any sort of title challenge at all.”
Meanwhile, Lennon has stated that any Hibs player who is called up for the end-of-season Scotland friendlies against Peru at the end of May and Mexico at the beginning of June will be urged to go.
But he believes that players from his former club Celtic, who will play Champions League qualifiers in mid-July, shouldn’t be involved in the controversial matches.
Craig Gordon, Kieran Tierney, Scott Brown, Stuart Armstrong, James Forrest and Leigh Griffiths have all started for the national team this year and could be called upon.
The Glasgow club are unhappy about that prospect as it would only give their players a fortnight off before their crucial European matches and have written to the SFA.
Read more: Former Rangers winger Andrei Kanchelskis tells Zenit to park their squabbles for Celtic clash
Lennon believes it is important that his former club qualify for UEFA’s premier club competition as the other top flight clubs this season shared a record £4 million in solidarity payments between them.
He said: “I wouldn’t play any Celtic players. We keep going on about how important European football is. It is important for all the clubs in the Premiership if Celtic qualify. We want to have Champions League football next season again.
“So I wouldn’t take any of the Celtic players. They are near enough into their mid-40s for games already. Some of them didn’t get a break last year. So you’re playing 12 months a year. It’s got to stop. They need a break at some stage. You know what Scott Brown, Stuart Armstrong, Kieran Tierney and all these players can do. I’m sure Alex will know that as well.”
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