Neil Lennon pins hopes on injured pair after draw

CELTIC manager Neil Lennon is pinning his hopes of Europa League progress in Switzerland next week on the return from injury of Beram Kayal and Gary Hooper after watching his side fail to seize the initiative in their play-off tie against Sion at Parkhead last night.

The 0-0 first-leg draw leaves the Swiss Cup holders as favourites to finish the job at the Stade de Tourbillon next Thursday night, especially against the backdrop of Celtic's dismal away record in Europe which has seen them win just one of their last 29 games on the road.

Despite his frustration with his team's lack of a cutting edge last night, Lennon remains optimistic that Celtic can reach the group stage of the tournament, especially if midfielder Kayal and striker Hooper can recover in time from the ankle injuries which ruled them out of the first leg.

"The tie is far from over," said Lennon. "I'm hoping to have more personnel to pick from for the second leg. I'm hoping Kayal, Hooper and Kelvin Wilson will be ready for it. We are hoping Kayal and Hooper will resume training on Monday or Tuesday.

"We know the tie is still in the balance and the clean sheet is a positive for us. We are capable of scoring goals. We haven't done that away from home in Europe for a while, so we obviously have to rectify that next week without being too open ourselves at the back.

• In pictures: Celtic 0 - 0 FC Sion

• Match report: Hoops facing uphill task after hitting Swiss wall

"In terms of their effort, I couldn't ask for more from them. In terms of quality, I want more from them. I'm still optimistic about the tie. We've got enough in the team to score goals over there.

"We had enough possession and enough chances tonight, particularly in the second half, to take a lead to Switzerland. We needed better quality in the final third. We snatched at things, our decision-making at times wasn't what it should have been.

"We showed them a bit too much respect in the first half. We let the first half slide by without really putting Sion under pressure. We asked for a lot more in the second half and I felt we dominated possession without really cutting them open. We need to do better in front of goal. But I'm delighted with the clean sheet."

Georgios Samaras, picked as Hooper's replacement last night, was the focus of the Celtic support's ire as the Greek international missed his team's best chances but he was defended by Lennon.

The manager said: "He brings a lot to the team.

"He did a good job at set pieces. I understand the frustration at times, he misses some decent chances. But he knows himself he can play better.

"I think he gets a lot of criticism that is sometimes unwarranted."

Celtic had a penalty claim turned down when Anthony Stokes tumbled under a challenge from Sion goalkeeper Andris Vanins eight minutes before half-time and Lennon felt his side may have been hard done to by Croatian referee Marijo Strahonja.

"I've seen them given," said Lennon. "Maybe Anthony could have taken the ball earlier with his left foot. There was contact but the referee has deemed he went down easily. It was a decision that could have gone for us but didn't."

Sion coach Laurent Roussey was a satisfied man after watching his players carry out his gameplan to perfection in his eyes.

"The team played as I wanted them to," said Roussey. "They kept the ball and we played better as the match went on. We had a goal disallowed for offside through Giovanni Sio and I'm not sure it shouldn't have stood. I felt Celtic were under pressure at the end. The tie is 50-50 now but we have the advantage of playing at home. I'm very happy with this result."