Celts natural selection is hard for Neil

NEIL LENNON reckons he would still struggle to name what he considers to be his best starting line-up.

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The Celtic manager currently finds himself spoiled for choice in every area of the pitch as his team closes in on a domestic treble.

After comprehensively defeating Hibs 5-0 last weekend, Lennon made a string of changes to his starting line-up as Cha Du Ri, Ki, Emilio Izaguirre and Kris Commons all came in for the 2-0 win over Dunfermline.

With Motherwell arriving at Parkhead tomorrow, Lennon envisages making some further tweaks to his starting line-up with Thomas Rogne, Victor Wanyama, Georgios Samaras and James Forrest hoping to be restored to the team.

At this stage of the season, with the home straight in sight, most managers would have an idea of what would be their best starting XI, provided every player was fit and available.

Lennon, however, says the impressive performances of so many of his players recently have made that impossible.

"I don't like making changes just for the sake of it," explained Lennon. "But some of the players have played a lot of games and I decided it would make sense to make a few changes during the week.

"One or two looked a bit tired at Easter Road and when you are able to bring in someone like Ki for Wanyama and Cha Du Ri for Adam Matthews, you have two ready-made replacements. The same goes for Commons coming in for Forrest.

"I thought it would be a good fixture for them and it does give you something to think about when they come in and play so well. Look at Ki's performances. He is a good, good player and has been for a long time now.

"As I've said, I wanted to give Wanyama a wee rest and it highlights the strength we've got when we can still field such a strong squad.

"That's what you need because you want players to know they must be at the top of their game to remain in the team.

"Obviously different games suit different players. What has really pleased me this season is that we've handled playing on pitches that haven't been the best and we've also managed to deal with the adverse weather conditions.

"There are some games when you need to be physically strong, such as Caley Thistle away and Hearts away, and we've managed to play football in those games whilst still looking like a powerful side.

"So who starts a game can depend on various things. I don't think you can say 'they are my 11 best players if they are all fit'. It can't work like that.

"In midfield, we have Brown, Ledley, Wanyama, Ki, Forrest, Commons and Kayal when he returns to full fitness and in any given game you can probably only play three or four of them so there are many options available."

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