Neil Lennon gave his thoughts on the mini-form slump at Celtic after losing two league matches in a row to Kilmarnock and Hearts to re-ignite theRangers hopes of winning the Scottish Premiership to add to the League Cup that is now at Ibrox and with the MSM all now dreaming of a treble for their favourites.
Speaking as a guest pundit on the PLZ Football Show the former Celtic manager doesn’t reckon that this is the time to panic and he also gave his won thoughts on the criticism that was aimed at the Celtic Board and Chairman Peter Lawwell at the weekend.
“I don’t think there’s any need to panic. You look at the record and it’s the first time in ten years they’ve lost back-to-back games and the first time they’ve lost at home in 52. It’s a really high bar and records are there to be broken,” Lennon said.
“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).
And 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 collectively be putting Celtic first. This is a league title we’ll only lose if we gift it to them. That must not be allowed to happen.
And this must not happen because all it will do is divide the support further. When the Stand Up for the Green Brigade was chanted at the weekend the support seemed split. The priority now is to put the differences to one side and get ourselves united, supporting the team. Lift the ban but don’t come back with an anti-board rhetoric. It will get substantial support but also just as much criticism and the only winners are the ‘treble’/ ‘quadruple’ chasing theRangers.
Rodgers needs to get to work. If he does that then we should all be in a better place
As for the GB, maybe they should issue one of their self-important statements on something or other. Please try to avoid inflating their importance in the context of our poor recent form.
A good piece.
Whatever people’s feelings on the GB, I think it’s glaringly obvious that there’s no atmosphere without them.
Yes, fans will say we’re famous for our atmosphere … it was there for over a hundred years before the GB and will be there long into the future. Well, it isn’t there at the moment. And those who say we don’t need the GB for atmosphere certainly aren’t creating any.
The team badly need that constant 90 minutes of support right now. They need fans behind them. Not pouncing on every misplaced pass and loudly groaning because we’re not 2-0 up in the first 5 minutes.
LOTS needs sorting. From the boardroom to the dugout and on the pitch, and I fully understand the support’s panic as we’ve been here before, and our concerns were ignored until things got drastic.
We don’t want to blow this title when we should be streets ahead of The Rangers – and I’d love to hear the Board’s views on why they’re even in touching distance – but Sevcoland will be rubbing their hands in glee and disbelief if we fall further apart.