Former Celtic manager and current Omonia Nicosia boss Neil Lennon is targeting the huge scalp of Manchester United when the two sides meet in the Europa League on Thursday - even if some of his players are Red Devils fans.
Erik ten Hag’s side head to Cyprus this week for the third game of their Group E campaign in Europe’s secondary competition, looking to build on their 2-0 victory over FC Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova last time out.
But Lennon believes his team can kickstart their own Europa League campaign by defeating the Premier League giants on home turf, despite it being an extra special day for some members of his squad.
He said, via the Daily Record : "We are all very excited about playing Manchester United for a number of reasons, obviously because they are one of the biggest clubs in the world. It will be a great experience for my players and some of them are Manchester United supporters!
"They are huge around the world so we welcome them here. However, we want to compete and get something out of the game. They have beaten Liverpool and Arsenal recently and they seem to have sorted themselves out after a poor start and they have steadied the ship.
"But every team is beatable on any given day so we must believe we can win. We must endeavour to get something out of the game to give ourselves a foothold in the group."
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Lennon refused to name which of his players were supporters of the Red Devils but he has encouraged them all to create history and make the most of the situation on Thursday, especially as Omonia sit bottom of the group after two defeats.
The Nicosia-based outfit finished seventh in the Cypriot First Division last season but qualified for the Europa League play-off round after winning the Cypriot Cup, where they beat Belgian outfit Genk 4-0 on aggregate over two legs to make the group stage.
A 3-0 home defeat by Sheriff was followed by a more respectable 2-1 loss away at Real Sociedad, leaving them bottom of the group ahead of a double header against the Red Devils, which could all but seal their fate in the group ahead of their final two fixtures.
Ten Hag’s side will be expected to pick up the maximum six points from these two games against a team that contains the likes of Welsh international Adam Matthews and former Celtic forward Gary Hooper, as well as former Manchester City youngster Brandon Barker.
The Red Devils travel to Cyprus after a demoralising 6-3 defeat at the hands of Pep Guardiola’s Premier League champions on Sunday, and Lennon will be hoping that his side can take advantage of that by pulling off their own victory on Thursday.
United’s victory over Sheriff last time out leaves them just three points ahead of their hosts heading into tonight’s game, following a 1-0 defeat at home by Real Sociedad in their group opener the week before. The last thing they need right now is to see that gap cut to zero ahead of the return fixture at Old Trafford next week.
