Neil Lennon spoke about Celtic’s mini-form slump after losing two league games in a row to Kilmarnock and Hearts to re-ignite Rangers’ hopes of winning the Scottish Premiership to add to the League Cup that is now at Ibrox, with the MSM all dreaming of a treble for their favourites.
Speaking as a guest analyst on the PLZ Football Show, the former Celtic manager believes that now is not the time to panic, and he also commented on the criticism levelled at the Celtic Board and Chairman Peter Lawwell over the weekend.
“I don’t think there’s any need to be concerned. When you look at the record, it’s the first time they’ve lost back-to-back games in ten years, and the first time they’ve lost at home in 52. “It’s a really high bar, and there are records to be broken,” Lennon added.
“But you have to say the level of performance isn’t what we expect from Celtic at the minute so they’re going to have to dig deep and galvanise everyone around. The fans need to see that the team is going through a bit of adversity and this is when the team and the manager need their support, rather than the other way around.
“I know there was some dissent towards the board, which I don’t understand because they’ve just won a Treble last year. Since Dermot’s come in it’s been total domination for 20 odd years; six Trebles, Europa Leagues, three last 16s, I could go on.
“So sometimes you’ve got to be careful what you wish for. But at the minute, it’s not good. There’s a lack of consistency and I think Brendan’s waiting for the January transfer window. Currently, he has to roll up his sleeves and get more out of this team.”
Yes, Lennon is spot on. However the rot has to stop now and the support has to have something to believe in. Saturday in particular was down to the manager as much as the players. He picked the team and if he goes with the same again this weekend against Livingston then he could make David Martindale’s Christmas.
Hopefully the work is being done at Lennoxtown during this week to sort out this mess that has developed because the fear among the support is we are seeing signs of a re-run of the Covid season, with the one difference being that fans are being admitted (well most of them anyway).
While Brendan and the players are having their own heart-to-hearts this week, the Board should be doing the same with the Green Brigade, and they should all be putting Celtic first as a group. We will only lose the league title if we give it to them. This must not be allowed to occur.
And this must not happen because it will just further divide support. When the Stand Up for the Green Brigade shout was heard over the weekend, it appeared that support was divided. The objective now is to put our disagreements aside and work together to support the team. Lift the prohibition, but do not return with anti-board sentiments. It will receive widespread support, but also harsh condemnation, and the only winners will be the ‘treble’/’quadruple’ chasing the Rangers.
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