Chris Sutton has urged Neil Lennon to start Ismaila Soro and David Turnbull in tomorrow's Scottish Cup final - or risk sending out the wrong message to Celtic's fringe stars.

The pair have played the past two matches, both victories, and Sutton believes they deserve a crack at the Hampden showdown against Hearts tomorrow afternoon. Meanwhile the likes of Scott Brown and Ryan Christie's form has dipped dramatically. 

Manager Lennon recently hinted that he'd be looking to bring back the players who got the club to the final, but Sutton reckons that would risk telling players that no matter how well they are playing, the old guard will always be first choice.

"I don’t get Neil Lennon when he’s talking about loyalty to players who have played in the competition," Sutton told BT Sport. "You can’t do that.

"If [Lennon] goes back to Brown, goes back to Rogic and he doesn’t give the opportunity to Soro and Turnbull after they’ve played so well, what message does that send? What he’s done the last couple of games is take a little bit of pressure off himself. A tiny piece of pressure.

"Celtic have built a tiny piece of momentum. That all goes out the window if Soro doesn’t play, Turnbull doesn’t play and Celtic end up losing the game. So, I don’t understand this thought process in going down the sentimental route."

Lennon rejected the notion that he would pick his XI based on sentimentality but did reveal Brown would be in contention. "It’s not as if this is going to be Scott’s swansong if he plays," the manager said. "Hopefully we can negotiate and maybe try to get to another cup final at the end of the season. He could and maybe should be involved in that as well.

"There's been a lot of talk about whether I start him or not or this one, but that'll be my decision and I'll make the right decision for the club."