Cork City welcome Celtic to Turner’s Cross on Wednesday night in a much anticipated friendly match which has assisted City through their recent financial difficulties.

Celtic legend Neil Lennon will be in charge of the Hoops on Leeside and he says that he is keen to visit Leeside again, having played in the last meeting between the two sides some years ago. Speaking ahead of the game Lennon said: “Myself and the players are looking forward to the trip to Cork. It's always great when we go over to Ireland because we know we have a large and passionate support over there, particularly in Cork as well. I think the players, especially the younger ones, will enjoy the experience as well.”

While Celtic will be without some of their bigger names due to this week’s international matches, the squad will feature a number of first team players such as Barry Robson, along with former Derry City star Paddy McCourt and some very promising young players.

Lennon told CorkCityFC.ie that he expects a great atmosphere at Turner’s Cross: “The reception is always incredible - they roll out the red carpet for us. I'm taking the younger team over, but there'll be a few first-team players coming over as well. Anytime Celtic go over to Ireland there's always a great atmosphere and it creates a bit of a stir as well.”

With City still firmly in the hunt for European qualification, and closing the gap on league leaders Bohemians last week, City boss Paul Doolin will take the opportunity to make a few changes to his side, but he says that he will field a strong side:

“While our focus has to be on our upcoming league and Setanta Sports Cup games, I will be looking to put out a strong side this evening. There may be a couple of changes, with guys like Paul Deasy, Shane Duggan and Dan Connor who have not featured in recent weeks getting an opportunity to play, but we have a small squad, so there will not be wholesale changes either. Results in recent weeks have shown that anything is possible in the league and we want to ensure that we are at the top end of the table come the end of the season.”

Doolin also said that he was pleased with his side’s performance against Galway on Friday night and hopes that they can turn in a similar performance tomorrow night: “It is a great testament to Celtic that they have come over to play us in this game to help us at a difficult time. I hope that there will be a good crowd in attendance this evening, as this will obviously be of assistance to the club financially, and if we perform like we did on Friday, I am sure that everyone will be pleased!”