Lennon coy over Bhoys Bellamy bid

Neil Lennon hopes Celtic will be able to pull off a transfer coup before the end of the month as he remained coy over suggestions he has targeted Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy.

The Wales international's future at Eastlands is uncertain as City boss Roberto Mancini reshapes his squad for his first full season in charge. Lennon, whose side exited the Champions League 4-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 win over Sporting Braga on Wednesday night, did not rule out a move for Bellamy when asked about the speculation.

"I wouldn't like to say anything at the moment on that," the Celtic manager responded. When asked whether the club were in a position to make such a high-profile signing, he said: "I would hope so but I don't know. It's still up in the air as regards that."

He added: "I don't know if we will, but if not we have got a lot of attacking options as it is.

"We are scoring goals and creating a lot of chances. We are playing at a tempo that even Braga struggled with."

Lennon was "delighted" with his side's overall display and praised several players including Cha Du-ri, substitute Marc-Antoine Fortune, Joe Ledley, Scott Brown and goalscorers Gary Hooper and Efrain Juarez.

"Brown was fantastic," Lennon added. "He gets a lot of unfair criticism from a lot of quarters, but I thought he was immense. I thought he played a real captain's role, but then that's just my opinion."

While Cha received praise for his overall display, Lennon admitted the right-back was at fault as he allowed Paulo Cesar to run across him and head home the opening goal.

And Lennon is in no doubt where his main problems lie as his side prepare for the opening Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash at Inverness on August 14.

"We keep conceding soft goals," Lennon said. "I'm learning from it and hopefully the players are learning from it as well."