NEIL LENNON has left some of his crucial team selection decisions until the last moment ahead of today’s Scottish Cup Final against Hearts at Hampden, with the Celtic manager looking set to hand Conor Hazard a start in goals.

The young ‘keeper has started the last two matches for Celtic as they arrested an alarming slump in form by beating Lille and Kilmarnock. Hazard, along with David Turnbull and Ismaila Soro, have been widely tipped to retain their places in the starting XI after their impressive showings in those last two outings.

Soro looks to be the player most at risk of dropping to the bench from the trio as Celtic manager Lennon continues to debate whether to start skipper Scott Brown in midfield.

"I have a decision to make on a couple of positions but we are nearly there on what we want in terms of the team,” Lennon said. "Conor will come into our thinking for the number one position.

"We have had a good week of training. We have no fresh injuries and (Olivier) Ntcham has returned to the squad too.

“They trained well even in the barren period if you want to call it that, but there was definitely a spring in their step this week.

“Obviously there was a lot of excitement and anticipation building for the game on Sunday.

“They’re all sort of fighting for a starting place and a place in the squad, so the quality at training has been excellent.”

While debate has raged this week over the prospect of Brown coming back into the team, Lennon says that it is the Celtic attack which will be key to winning the final today and securing a first-ever quadruple Treble.

And he has challenged Odsonne Edouard to lead that charge after an indifferent start to the season from his star man.

"These occasions bring the best out in Odsonne,” said Lennon. “He is a big-game player.

"That's a great thing to have and it speaks volumes for his character as you forget how young he is.

"He is quality and is a real talismanic figure for us. If he is on song then we have a real chance of winning the Scottish Cup.

"Like the majority of the players at the minute, he misses the fans in the stadium at the moment. He's an entertainer at the end of the day.

"But he's in a good position mentally and physically and like the others, he's had a good record in this competition. We are all looking for more of the same in this final.

"But I'm not going to put all the spotlight on Odsonne as we have quality elsewhere too.

"Mohamed Elyounoussi is in great scoring form this season and is a threat from the wide areas. Ryan Christie, Tom Rogic, David Turnbull...they are all matchwinners on the day as well.

"We also have two big threats from set-pieces in Chris Jullien and Shane Duffy.

"No matter who scores the goals, we are just looking for a volume and a consistency in performance.

"We have experienced players who have been over the course and distance before and that will help on Sunday.”

As well as the attacking threat Lennon mentions from his centre-backs, he believes that French defender Jullien could also be a pivotal figure at the other end as he nears full fitness once more.

“I thought he had a great game on Sunday, I thought it was his best game of the season,” he said.

“People were asking me about him when (Nicke) Kabamba gave him a hard time at Rugby Park, and (Lyndon) Dykes gave him a problem too.

“He turned that around, we beat Livingston 4-0 and then on Sunday he handled Kabamba very, very well.

“But no one asks you about that after the game, it’s all about the negatives, but for me that was a real positive and it spoke volumes for his personality and his character.

“I like that in him, he’s got that bite in him, he’s a big player for us.

“I’m hoping he makes a massive contribution again come Sunday.”