Neil Lennon is looking to box smart with Celtic gems, including Karamoko Dembele.
Speaking to The Scottish Sun, Neil Lennon has stressed the importance of keeping some of his Celtic gems grounded and not allowing inevitable hype to corrupt their development.
The Hoops boss has a number of very exciting Lennoxtown products coming through at the moment but perhaps none more promising than Karamoko Dembele.
Dembele, who turned only 16 in February, made his senior Celtic debut toward the end of last season and impressed in a big way during a 2-1 win over Hearts at Parkhead.
Physically, the pint-sized youngster barely looks his age, but he produced a mature performance that belied his years and, as a result, a lot is expected of him now going forward.
Lennon admitted that he was a ‘very, very special’ talent, but the Northern Irishman has suggested that he might wrap him up in cotton wool for now and let him ‘tick along in the background’ to lower his profile.
He told The Scottish Sun: “You have to go softly, softly with them at times as it’s about physical development too. We’re delighted with the talent they have. We think they are future players possibly.
“Karamoko is very, very special for his age. But again you don’t want to hype him up as he’s already had a lot of publicity.
“We’ll just keep him ticking along in the background and he’ll come along the way he should do.”
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