NEIL LENNON will today reaffirm to Gary Hooper he is still very much part of his plans for the Champions League qualifiers.

And that's despite the fact the striker is not expected to be at Parkhead if they reach the group stage which kicks off in September.

"We would still like to keep the player, and he will be part of the squad against Cliftonville," said Lennon.

QPR and Norwich are still vying for the striker, but have yet to match Celtic's valuation of the 25-year-old.

"I don't know if the deal will go through," said Lennon, who is looking to bring in another goalscorer, irrespective of Hooper leaving or staying.

"If it doesn't, I'll be delighted because we will still have a very good player in the squad." The Hoops boss is also keen to confirm with Kelvin Wilson he would rather remain in Glasgow than head back south, with Nottingham Forest expected to return with an improvement on the £1.5million bid which was rejected over the weekend.

Lennon is confident the central defender has no wish to end the contract which still has another two years to run,

But he does not want to get caught out, with the vital Champions League qualifiers coming thick and fast.

Lennon will now check the fitness of his entire squad before naming his team for the return game against Cliftonville.

Hooper is set to resume training following the groin injury which has sidelined him for two weeks, and Joe Ledley and Adam Matthews could also be in contention to make their first appearances of the season.

Despite holding a 3-0 lead from the first leg, Lennon wants a strong performance and said: "We'll play with the same intensity as we did in the first leg.

"It's important we maintain our level of consistency and not go into the game thinking we're already there."

Meanwhile, Sergio Buenacasa, a 17 year-old striker from Barcelona, played for Celtic's Development side against Cork City last night.

Elsehwere, Cardiff have been forced into an embarrassing climbdown after accusing Celtic of reneging on an agreement to accept a £10m offer for Victor Wanyama.

Bluebirds' owner, Vincent Tan, made the claim which annoyed Celtic. But, after Lennon insisted no such agreement for the man who went to Southampton for £12.5million ever existed, the Welsh club's website issued the following statement.

It read: "Cardiff City and Tan Sri Vincent Tan would like to clarify that, while negotiations with Celtic FC were ongoing for the proposed transfer of Victor Wanyama, no formal bid was officially accepted by the SPL Champions."