Neil Lennon praises Celtic players for staying calm in face of Bosnian boot-boys

Celtic swept through to the next round by five goals to two on aggregate after goals from Ryan Christie and Callum McGregor either side of a Benjamin Tatar leveller for the visitors saw Lennon’s men progress.

There were times on the night though that the match threatened to boil over, with Sarajevo shown five yellow cards as they targeted Celtic’s main men with some roughhouse treatment, and Lennon was relieved that his players not only avoided injury, but avoided any potential suspensions by refusing to rise to the bait.

“They were a bit agricultural to say the least,” Lennon said. “At least one of them warranted a red card. “At this level, referees sometimes see the game a little bit differently to us. That’s what I’ve learned. You’re better off saying nothing and letting it be.

READ MORE: Celtic 2 Sarajevo 1: Five things we learned from Celtic's victory

“The last thing you want at this stage is any long-term injuries or any kind of injury. There will be a few bumps and bruises tomorrow but hopefully nothing significant. We should also have Mikey (Johnston) back for the second round hopefully as well as maybe (Marian)Shved and (Vakoun Issouf) Bayo.

“It was really important [the players remained calm] because discipline is a big factor and we don’t want to lose anyone for the upcoming games. We know how difficult, fraught and tense these qualifiers are but the experience some of the players have got will hopefully stand them in good stead going forward.”

Lennon was similarly delighted with the overall level shown by his men over the two legs of the tie, coming as it did so early in their season.

“I’m really pleased with the level of performance so far,” he said. “It’s not perfect by any means - I get that - but for where we are it’s excellent. That’s a 5-2 win over two legs and that’s very good.

“I’m delighted. It was an excellent performance against a very good side so early in the competition.

“You could see they were a week fitter as we were. I thought we played excellently, especially in the first half.

“My only bugbear was conceding the goal when we were in total control of the game and the tie. But Callum came up with a brilliant goal to win the game.

“He was outstanding again along with Scott Brown in midfield. I’m absolutely delighted with what the players are giving me at the minute.

“That was a tough tie to negotiate so I’m very, very pleased.”

READ MORE: Celtic 2 FK Sarajevo 1: How the Celtic players rated as they march on in Champions League qualifying

Celtic will now face Estonian side Nomme Kalju in the second round of qualifying after they shocked Macedonian outfit Shkendija on Tuesday night, and Lennon is heartened going into the first leg of that tie next Wednesday night at Celtic Park by the knowledge that there is a lot more still to come from his side.

“We were in good control after the first leg and Sarajevo were coming out with nothing to lose,” he said.

“We handled that very well with a pretty makeshift back four. I was delighted with the attacking verve and intent we played with.

“We are a week fitter now, we will be a week fitter again going into the second qualifying round. Guys like Leigh Griffiths, Christopher Jullien and Scott Sinclair can be more up to speed.”

Meanwhile, Lennon confirmed another arrival may be imminent to bolster his squad.

“I think we’ll have something in the next few days hopefully," he said.

“It might be a right-back, it might be a left-winger, it might be a centre-forward.

“Right-back is a priority, but we have a number of positions I’d like to strengthen like midfield and one or two attacking areas.

“You don’t want to overcook it either, but we want to add to the quality in the squad that we already have.

“The boys are doing a brilliant job at the minute, but they could do with a little bit of help in terms of strength in depth."