Lennon to step up stopper search

Neil Lennon will step his bid to sign a new central defender during this transfer window after seeing Celtic's options depleted.

The Hoops chief has seen the likes of Daniel Majstorovic, Glenn Loovens and Darren O'Dea leave Parkhead, while his bid to bring in Polish stopper Jaroslav Fojut was scuppered when he suffered a serious knee injury. And, speaking after Tuesday's 2-1 friendly win against Vfb Aalen during their pre-season tour of Germany, Lennon was pleased with Victor Wanyama's return to action, but noted that he needs to bolster his backline. Charlie Mulgrew, Kelvin Wilson and Thomas Rogne are his only recognised central defenders so there could be problems if two of those pick up injuries. "Victor was tremendous and he is a great example to the other players," Lennon said after the game. "We are going into a level where we need to be really well conditioned, particularly away from home. "We are going to have to play strongly without the ball. Victor can play at the back or in midfield, depending on the opposition but we are still short of a centre-half. You can see that. "If we get an injury to Rogne, Wilson or Mulgrew, we only have three recognised central defenders at the minute and obviously it is another priority to try to bring one in quickly." The Hoops secured their first pre-season win thanks to second half goals from Gary Hooper and Anthony Stokes.