Celtic face the Romanian champions next week in UEFA Champions League qualifying.
After advancing against Estonian outfit Nomme Kalju 7-0 on aggregate, the Hoops are heading into the next stage of the competition full of confidence but know that Cluj represent a step up in difficultly.
The Romanians overcame Maccabi Tel-Aviv in a tight tie, winning 1-0 at home and drawing 2-2 in Israel on Tuesday night.
They’ll host Celtic in the first leg when the two teams meet next week and the Celtic Park boss feels that’s an advantage.
As quoted by BBC Scotland, he said: “They’re a really difficult side.
“They’ve negotiated their way beyond Maccabi Tel Aviv and have a very shrewd manager in Dan Petrescu.
“The good thing for me is that the first leg is away so hopefully we can get some type of result to take back to Celtic Park.
“We’ve done a lot of work on them already so we’ll be well prepared.”
Lennon has excellent experience of European qualifiers at Celtic so his words of preparedness have weight. He knows exactly how to navigate the Hoops through these kind of ties, which is probably one of the big reasons he got the job.
The Parkhead side will also be favourites for the encounter as seeds in the process. Only Ajax are higher ranked than the Scottish champions in their route of the qualifying process.
Cluj though are no European mugs, knocking old Celtic foes Astana and Maccabi out already.
However, playing away first does give the Hoops something of an advantage.
If they manage to keep things tight in Romania then they’ll be backed heavily by supporters in the return leg, giving the team a perfect platform to put their visitors under serious pressure and get the job done.
That’s in contrast to playing at home first which could result in a nervy, tentative encounter as the teams feel each other out, leading to a subsequent tough trip abroad.
In a tie that could be very close, Lennon is right to pick it out as a positive.
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