The 25 years old Nigerian defender of Celtic, Efe Ambrose wants Neil Lennon to avoid having to sell their star players as Gary Hooper, Victor Wanyama and Kelvin Wilson were all sold in the last summer and according to Ambrose, Celtic will not be able to compete against the best in Europe in the Champions League if they keep on offloading their best players.

Last season Celtic managed to snatch a spot into the last 16 teams of the Champions League but this time around they finished at the bottom of their group. Joe Ledley and Georgio Samaras still have not signed new deals and contracts with the club and Ambrose is hoping that they will not be sold like the others.

Ambrose said: “The way the manager talks of keeping the team together is going to benefit the club.

“Last year, some players left and you need continuity in the club to make it better. Long term, it makes you much stronger than selling one player every year and bringing one in. It’s not going to help. I believe if we keep our players for now, we will be better and stronger. It’s football. Sometimes things work and sometimes they don’t’’.

“We were disappointed this season as it was a Group of Death but, at the same time, we have so many more things to achieve. In the Champions League, you need a team which has been together for two or three years to achieve those good things.”

Samaras was given a week off for him to take time and think about his future and the head boss of Celtic, Neil Lennon insists that if he decides to leave the club it would be huge boots to fill.

‘He was a big player for big games, that’s the best thing you could say about Sami. He has certainly made a huge contribution for me in my time in charge here. Lennon said.