NEIL LENNON will this week seek to get his players excused from international duty, believing it is more important that they are given a chance to rest as Celtic face big games in the coming fortnight.

After his side's 1-1 draw yesterday with St Johnstone, which leaves them two points behind Hibernian in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League table, the Celtic manager said he plans on again contacting Billy Stark, the interim Scotland manager, to see if Charlie Mulgrew and Kris Commons can be withdrawn from the squad for Wednesday night's friendly in Luxembourg. Mulgrew is already a doubt after aggravating an injury.

Celtic could have around eight other players on international duty – such as Tony Watt, Fraser Forster, Paddy McCourt, Adam Matthews and Joe Ledley – and Lennon does not feel it is worthwhile for any of them to travel given Celtic's hectic schedule of domestic and Champions League fixtures.

"I hope they don't go and I plan on speaking to a couple of international managers this week," said Lennon. "We're only two or three weeks after a double header. What are coaches going to find out about their players that they didn't already know, unless they're going to blood new players?

"In the middle of all the games we have, this is the last thing I or my players need. In terms of guys travelling halfway across the world to play a friendly, I'm pretty concerned about that with the games we've got coming up. This is a great opportunity to give our players rest. We haven't been able to do that for a month as it's been game after game. That's the price you pay for being in four competitions – which is where you want to be – but the flip side is there is fatigue or the danger of losing players. We've got Aberdeen and Benfica coming up and these, especially Benfica, are two monumental games that could shape our season."

Against St Johnstone, Celtic, unsurprisingly, failed to match the highs of their victory over Barcelona just four days earlier. Lennon made only one change to the starting line-up, deciding to keep faith with the same players who had caused such an upset, but admitted they delivered a flat performance.

"There was a lot of mental and physical fatigue in the team," he said. "It's a balancing act. We've had a heavy schedule and it's taken its toll a little bit. The players are giving me everything but they're just running out of puff. There was a flatness about us, a lethargy. But that's just the amount of games catching up. As the game wore on I would have made six changes if I could have, as the players were feeling the toll of their exertions. They were cramping up, and getting stiff and sore."

Celtic have now failed to win their last three league games, but Lennon is not unduly concerned.

"We've been in worse positions," he said. "We're two points behind with a game in hand; last year we were 15 points behind. We've played considerably more games than any other team in the league."

Frazer Wright, the St Johnstone defender who played on despite coughing up blood at one point, admitted there was a feeling among their squad that Celtic may have been vulnerable after their midweek exploits.

"The last few times after a Champions League game they've struggled a wee bit," he said. "It was after a Champions League game that we beat them at St Johnstone and then Kilmarnock beat them. We're just happy to get something today."

Steve Lomas, the St Johnstone manager, was in the stand by the time Nigel Hasselbaink cancelled out Watt's opener for Celtic.

The Northern Irishman had complained too vehemently at the decision to allow Watt to re-enter play towards the St Johnstone goal after receiving treatment for a knock.

"The rule is that the player can't enter the field in an advantageous position," said Lomas. "But he did, running down our wing unopposed and putting a cross into the box. If they had scored from that we would have felt very hard done by. I went in to see Iain [Brines, the referee] to apologise for my language but it's an emotional game.

"I'm sure all the talk will be about how Celtic played poorly but I thought our men were superb."