The Celtic Star have provided a post match report tonight, so I won’t dwell on that. I think every man and his dog knows that the performance was unacceptable tonight. Losing 4-1 at home to Sparta Prague, who have seven players out, is disgraceful. The fact that the Czech side hit the woodwork twice is also hugely concerning.
Neil Lennon selected an unchanged side in a 4-2-3-1 formation. To that end, he did everything right and what everyone had asked of him. His team looked motivated on Sunday and played well, as they did against Lille last week. Then tonight there was a lack of effort, lack of enthusiasm and a devastating lack of ability to pass the ball to a teammate or complete basic defensive duties.
To concede four goals at home against anyone will inevitably lead to question marks about the application of the players. Neil Lennon said that the players showed “A lack of hunger and a lack of application.” He described the performance as “Unacceptable and defenceless,” before reiterating “I can’t defend the players for that tonight.” The Celtic boss also feels that the players need to “Sort out their attitude.”
Certainly, this seemed apparent, and has done all season. From Boli going to Spain, to Griffiths returning to pre-season overweight; from players getting their agents to ask for valuations to move away, to Elyounoussi sat on his phone on the bench. It just seems like a lack of respect for the manager, Celtic Football Club and the fans. You wonder, do they care?
This is a great team who have achieved so much. They’ve been fantastic. In the last nine years they’ve always looked hungry, so what’s changed now? More importantly, how is Lennon going to turn this around?
The manager’s answer was simple: “There has to be a culture change, a sea change in the culture. We need to get the players hungry and on point again.” One can deduce that Lennon is referring to the man management of the players. The first time in the job, Lennon was fiery and possibly over the top. He was very emotional. Since returning, he has calmed slightly to be more professional, but he retained his passion. However, this season he has often looked quite calm and quiet. Lennon previously explained that this is because modern players don’t respond so well to his old school style and can’t take being shouted at in the way that previous generations could.
After that performance tonight, enough is enough, and it sounds as if Lennon will not keep up this calm persona. He will go back to his natural self and get the hairdryer out when it’s required.
Let’s hope it works starting on Sunday. Fans may be deflated, critical and angry. Players cannot feel that way, they cannot sulk, they must show some fight and bounce back.
