'Unknown' Miller could shock Bayern
Neil Lennon insists Liam Miller is still an unknown quantity to his Celtic team-mates – and believes Bayern Munich are in for a big shock tomorrow night.
The 22-year-old caused havoc against Anderlecht with his runs from deep in the Hoops’ last Champions League match at Parkhead.
The Irishman has come from nowhere this season to gain hero status among the club’s supporters and Lennon claims Bayern may get a nasty shock.
“If he plays like that [against Anderlecht] again I’m sure he will be an unknown quantity to the opposition,” said Lennon.
“He is an unknown quantity to a lot of us.
“He’s made a big step up from the under-21s to the Champions League as if the transition was effortless.
“The boy has great ability and I don’t want to build him up too much because he is part of a team, but he is very level-headed.
“But if he plays like he did against Anderlecht then he can surprise a lot of people.”
Many Celtic supporters are expecting their heroes to continue their incredible unbeaten home record in Europe stretching back to the autumn of 2001 and in the process damage Bayern’s hopes of qualifying for the last 16.
Ottmar Hitzfeld’s 2001 European Cup winners are on the verge of failing to qualify from the first group stage for the second-successive year and were far from convincing in beating 1860 Munich at the weekend.
They are still smarting from their home defeat to Lyon in their last Champions League game and Lennon admits they will be hungry to gatecrash their party tomorrow.
“Bayern Munich will revel in the atmosphere and the big games,” he said.
“They have a tradition and have a great record for spoiling parties so we know how difficult it will be.
“We will go out to win the game as always and they will put us under severe pressure which we have to see out.
“They didn’t make it through the group stages last season and losing in Lyon has put them on alert so they are going to be fired up for the game.
“It’s not a must-win game for us but it would be great to win. We know the permutations if we lose or draw the game but we want to win the game.”
Lennon claims that becoming officially one of the top 16 teams in Europe by getting through to the knock-out stages is a big incentive for his team-mates.
The Northern Irishman added: “On paper if you are in the last 16 clubs in the Champions League then you are one of the best 16 clubs in Europe.
“This group is as tough and close as any group and if we can win tomorrow then we’ve got a great chance of qualifying.
“I think our form has come from the experience of winning games as well and the UEFA Cup run [last season, when they reached the final] did us the power of good. It established us as a decent European side.”
