Neil Lennon yesterday claimed that Celtic now have the psychological edge on our closest rivals in this year’s pulsating title race. Lennon witnessed the full circle rebirth of a Celtic team that is night and day compared to what he left behind after his sacking last year. Celtic slaughtered the superstars of Ibrox in a first half demolition job any Celtic manager of the past would be proud of.
Speaking to talkSPORT, the ex-boss said: “Managing was a great privilege. I played, captained, coached and then managed the club twice. They were the best years of my life. It is 24/7, there’s no question of that, but it’s everything you dream of.
“I knew exactly what Ange was going through on Wednesday night because it was an amazing first half performance. Psychologically the momentum is with Celtic at the minute. Gio will be sitting in a dark room for a couple of days scared to pop his head out.”
Lennon must have had a change of heart since his scathing attack on Celtic and Ange, with his fellow unemployed friend, Paul Lambert, when they castigated the result against Bayer Leverkusen back in October. Both totally ignored the performance that night and concentrated on the result. Even then, there were signs that Ange was building something different.
It has been a bumpy road at times for sure, but Wednesday night was the first time that the Angeball tree really begun to bear fruit. With injuries and international call-ups impeding our flow and process, it has been a difficult time to weather the continual navigation of a fixture list that is unforgiving, especially during the winter months. The fact we did it without out star striker, Kyogo Furuhashi is nothing short of sensational.
Yes, it may very well be true that we have the momentum now and the psychological edge over the Govan side. However, it would be remiss not to point out the significant threat they still pose themselves, having still to get to full strength also this year. Caution is the best policy in this circumstance. Although if we keep on playing to the standard of that first-half on Wednesday night, we will take some stopping this year.
Paul Gillespie
