Omonia Nicosia manager Neil Lennon is adamant his players won't be requesting to swap shirts with Cristiano Ronaldo at half-time when his side face Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday night, joking that he's already put in three orders of his own.
Erik ten Hag's men travel to Cyprus for their third group stage match in Europe this season, with the Reds sitting on three points after their opening two games.
Cypriot outfit Omonia are yet to win a game in the Europa League and are expected to continue that run when they host United in one of the biggest nights in the club’s history.
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Former Celtic boss Lennon, who has been in charge of Omonia since March of this year, has revealed that a number of his players will be coming up against their heroes at the GSP Stadium on Thursday night - with the manager admitting that a number of his first-team stars support the Reds.
United striker Ronaldo has been named in the Premier League side's starting XI after remaining on the bench for the 6-3 loss against Manchester City on Sunday. The demand for the Portuguese icon's shirt will be high, but Lennon has insisted that he does not want his players to get carried away with the occasion - so he has well and truly taken matters into his own hands.
"We’ve got some players here, particularly the Cypriot boys, who will be Manchester United fans," Lennon told talkSPORT. "You don’t want them star-struck in the tunnel and losing total focus.
"I’m a bit old-fashioned when it comes to swapping shirts at half-time and all that baloney. [But] I’ve already put three orders in for Ronaldo’s shirt!
"To be honest, I really hope he [Ronaldo] does play. For me, he is one of the greatest ever, and I would love to see him play live one more time. We might not get the opportunity much longer. It will be fantastic but we have to play the game."
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