Neil Lennon says Anthony Stokes deserves Republic of Ireland recall

Neil Lennon has urged Giovanni Trapattoni to re-introduce his Celtic striker Anthony Stokes to the Republic of Ireland fold. Stokes has fallen out of favour with his country's manager since calling off from the Carling Nations Cup last May. He has again been overlooked by Trapattoni for next week's friendly with the Czech Republic. At club level Stokes has scored 18 goals this season. With the European Championship looming, Lennon is set to make personal representations to the Football Association of Ireland regarding the forward's ability and form. "He hasn't played in any of the qualifying games and there was that time when he pulled out for feeling tired at the end of last season," Lennon said. "Trapattoni is probably looking at the players that got him there [to Euro 2012] but I think the way Anthony is playing he cannot be ignored." Lennon made direct reference to the form and injury problems of other strikers in the Ireland set-up including Shane Long, Simon Cox, Kevin Doyle and Jonathan Walters. He added: "I see young James McClean was picked from Sunderland and, if Anthony keeps going in the same vein as he is, I will be putting a call into the FAI and saying: 'Look, I think this kid is worth a look.' I would be prepared to make that call." Celtic's manager admitted the events of the last nine months could have damaged Stokes's standing with Trapattoni. "He has played consistently well for a big club, under pressure, every week and he's played well in European games," Lennon said. "It might just be the fact that he didn't go to that tournament at the end of last season and Trapattoni has been loyal to his players, which I can understand as well. "He [Stokes] realises he made an error of judgment last May. Regardless of whether Ireland had qualified for the Euros or not, he wants to play for his country. "I don't know if it's a personal thing. Anthony is in form and has scored 18 goals this season. "I'm not going to tell Mr Trapattoni how to do his job. All I'm doing is saying, look, I recommend this player to you and I think he's worth a look at again." Celtic will look to extend their Scottish Premier League lead over Rangers to 20 points when Dunfermline visit on Wednesday evening. "It's a healthy squad, they're all in good spirits and playing with confidence," Lennon said. "We've had to work hard to be in this position. It's credit to my medical staff as well. The condition the players are in just now is testament to the work that the medical staff and fitness coaches have done. They're looking really strong at this stage."