NEIL LENNON declared himself “very pleased” with Celtic’s dealings in the transfer window, despite criticism from outside the club.
The £2.25million deadline-day arrival of Scotland international left-back Greg Taylor, from Kilmarnock, and teenage defenders Jeremie Frimpong (Manchester City) and Lee O’Connor (Manchester United) made it 11 senior signings at the cost of £13.8million this summer, as CQN reported.
There may have been some disappointment about the lack of a so-called big-name marquee signing, the £25million departure of Kieran Tierney to Arsenal and there was a massive backlash following the Champions League exit against Romania’s Cluj.
But the Hoops gaffer is adamant the champions are heading in the correct direction with the record-equalling nine titles in a row in focus.
Lennon, speaking to BBC Sport, said: “The club is united, let’s get that right.
“There’s been a lot of sniping. We’ve stayed very strong on it and composed. We knew what we wanted to do and these things take time.
“The close of the window has come and I’m very happy with the quality of the squad. We’re very excited about the season now. We’ve got a great Europa League group and a lot of big games coming up domestically, as well.”
The champions are three points clear at the top of the Premiership following the 2-0 victory at Ibrox on Sunday while they took their scoring total to a highly-commendable 17 in four league games.
Lennon welcomed the arrival of Taylor – who will compete with Boli Bolingoli for the No.3 position – and expects the squad to be strengthened further by the return from injury of Australian World Cup playmaker Tom Rogic.
He added: “We’re very pleased with the business we’ve done and Greg is the icing on the cake. He is hungry to be here, you could see how much it meant to him at his signing.
“In the last couple of seasons he has been one of the most consistent players in the country and he is a Scotland international, but young enough to develop into an even better player.
“We have some good players to come back. We’re hoping to see Rogic at the end of the two weeks knocking on the door for a place.”
The Hoops return to league action at Hamilton a week on Saturday, then there is the trip to face Killie at Rugby Park the following weekend before they take on Gary Caldwell’s Partick Thistle in the Betfred League Cup at Parkhead on September 25.
