NUMBERS do not interest Neil Lennon. A host of statistics are set against the Celtic captain’s name but he disregards all of them, just as he does the notion that the Champions League fortune will finally smile in his side’s favour in Lisbon simply by the sheer law of averages.

“I don’t believe in the law of averages when it comes to football,” Lennon said yesterday as he prepared for tonight’s group F encounter with Benfica. The Estadio da Luz will be the eleventh venue that the Northern Irishman has come to seeking a victory in the group phase. “This is our time, we have to make the most of it.”

What began in the Stadio Delli Alpi in Turin in 2001, and meandered through Munich’s Olympic Stadium, the Stade Gerland in Lyons, the San Siro in Milan and many others before arriving at Old Trafford in September, has become something of a frustrating European tour for Lennon.

Ten defeats and a solitary draw — in the Nou Camp, against Barcelona — is all Lennon has to show for his efforts. He is the only man to have taken part in all 21 of Celtic’s Champions League group-stage matches. Tonight, Lennon makes his 54th appearance in Uefa club competition, a number swelled by that epic run to the 2003 Uefa Cup final.

Deep down, Lennon believes the current side possess the qualities to eclipse the team of Henrik Larsson, with whom he shared the stage in Seville three years ago in a 3-2 defeat in extra time to FC Porto.

“I think we have more pace in this team and more flexibility,” Lennon explained. “We have players who are more adaptable and can operate in different positions. I don’t like to compare that era with this one. Maybe when this campaign is over, I can do that.”

Even Martin O’Neill’s Uefa Cup final side never made it out of the group stage in the Champions League. Nor did they win on the road. It is a story buried under damned lies and statistics, but Lennon will rhyme off every bad thing that happened, from the last-minute dive by Nicola Amoruso that earned Juventus a piece of larceny that incensed O’Neill, or the handball by Bobo Balde in Lyons that allowed Juninho to give the French side a 3-2 win when Celtic were just four minutes away from qualification.

“We had some bad performances and some bad luck,” Lennon said ruefully. “Some time our performances merited much better results than we got. Some time we had bad decisions, like Juventus’s penalty, with others, like when we lost to Anderlecht after beating them 3-1 at Celtic Park the fortnight before, it was just a dreadful performance.

“We went to Bayern Munich and played them off the pitch and went 1-0 up through Alan Thompson. Then we gave away two silly goals in the last few minutes. The Lyons one hurt the most because we were through. However, it is all, ifs, buts and maybes.

“I don’t believe in our number coming up. All I recognise if making sure we score one more goal than Benfica do. This is a great opportunity for us. I think we have played really well in the group by recovering from the defeat at Manchester United to beat FC Copenhagen and Benfica at home.

“The main objective for us was to get out of the group stage and now we have a chance. I feel that this Celtic team is capable of getting a result. But you cannot take anything for granted on the road in the Champions League.”

Lennon, of course, has happy memories of Portugal with Celtic. It was in Oporto that Larsson’s goal defeated Boavista in the Uefa Cup semi-final three years ago to secured a place in the final. “You cannot make comparisons,” the captain said. “You have to look forward, not back. Benfica are a far better team than Boavista.”

However, Lennon does not believe in getting the rub of the green when it comes to numbers, perhaps the presence of true European pioneers will sprinkle some luck on his bid. Celtic were not just the first British side to win the European Cup, but the first outwith the triumverate of Spain, Italy and Portugal.

The side of Billy McNeill signalled as new era in 1967, and blazed a trail that was followed by England, Germany and the Netherlands. McNeill and his team mixed with Lennon’s side yesterday, the older generation identifiable by their green blazers with the “Lisbon Lions” badge on the front.

“We will have to go a long way in this competition before we can ever be compared to the Lisbon Lions,” Lennon said. “They have always been an encouragement to us. I know this will be an emotional occasion for them being back in this city. However, we have to win for ourselves.”

The Celtic supporters, however, will not be thinking only of themselves tonight. They will pay tribute to Miklos Feher, the Benfica player who died in 2004 after suffering a heart attack on the pitch, with a special banner bearing the message “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, which will then be handed to the home support.