So Celtic are through to the group stages again following a drsmatic night at Celtic park in which a bare squad by top level standards overcame Shakter Karagandy 3-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate.
Did Anthony Stokes put himself back in Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni's thinking with his weaving run to create the goal ?
Maybe consistent performances in the group stages could convince the Italian Stokes is worth a call.
A lot was made of the transfer policy of Celtic in the lead into this game with Lennon telling one reporter to ask him after last night's game what it would be.
The Bhoys received just over €5 million for qualifying and have a guarantee of €500,000 for every group match played in match fees alone, that means heavy back up should be on the way.
Figures from stv.tv
| Play-off participation | €2,100,000 (£1,660,000) |
| Group stage participation | €5,300,000 (£4,180,000) |
| 6 x match fees | €3,300,000 (£2,600,000) |
| Projected market pool | €11,000,000 (£8,720,000) |
| Guaranteed total | €21,700,000 (£17,192,000) |
| Maximum performance bonus | €6,000,000 (£4,700,000) |
Could that back up take the form of Wolves want away striker Kevin Doyle who came close to joining in January, well we have until Monday to find out as that’s when the transfer window closes.
Neil Lennon doesn’t get much praise for winning SPL titles but a hat has to be tipped when they achieve in Europe which they have done for the second year running, matching or even bettering last years trip to the last 16 will be difficult to match but finding replacements equal in quality to Gary Hooper and Victor Wanyama may prove just as hard.
Here’s Lennon sharing his thoughts with Sky Sports following last night's match.
Figures from stv.yv
