As Celtic’s expected ten-in-a-row historical season unravelled under Neil Lennon, Ryan Christie has admitted some of the fall out, as results nosedived, was a ‘shock to the system’ for a group of players used to a sustained period of success…
Ryan Christie, speaking to Football Scotland, admits losing games was ’shocking’ enough, but the reaction, in particular the protests outside the ground after the Ross County League Cup defeat, was more criticism than the ex-Celt expected.
“(The protests) were a bit of a shock to the system, I definitely didn’t expect it to go like that. It was shocking to us that we were losing games and not picking up points but you know how much it means to the fans so when it doesn’t go right you know you’re probably going to be on the wrong side of some criticism.
“It was supposed to be a huge season and you want to do it for yourself to write yourself into the history books as well as for the fans. But it wasn’t to be and you come out the other side frustrated.
“It got to the stage when we weren’t picking up points or we were going through a bad spell, everyone from the outside wanted to throw any excuse out there and people would jump on it.”
Yet Christie refutes suggestions anyone had given up the ghost last season. Instead, he believed Celtic could and possibly should have been able to turn things around. There was a belief according to Christie that one good result could result in a springboard to some sustained form, instead the knocks kept coming and Celtic couldn’t recover.
It’s something Christie thought could have longer term implications, as such the now Bournemouth player admits to being impressed by the speed of Ange Postecoglou’s rebuild that sees the Hoops three points clear of theRangers this season, with ten games to go.
“Going into every game we thought we could turn it around. Certainly at no point did we think we’d already thrown up the white flag and given up. That was annoying because when we were going through the tough run around November/December time we felt like every game it was going to take one win to get us back on track. It went the other way and got worse and worse.
“The pressure’s so high at Celtic and if you keep going down that route it can be very damaging to the squad’s confidence and everyone around the club. That’s why I was so impressed when Ange (Postecoglou) came in and he flipped it on its head so quickly.”
And whilst Celtic fans debated when and not if Neil Lennon would leave a role he was struggling with, it seems similar thoughts filled the minds of the players behind the scenes, as they considered change as a possibility both at management level but also higher up the chain, and Christie admits to being no wiser than the fans were when it came to those expected changes.
“Around the time when people are calling for change around the club, whether that’s managerial or even higher, it’s hard as a player not to see it. All it takes is having a close friend thinking you’ve got the inside scoop, but you know as much as they do!
“There was definitely a feeling of uncertainty at times going in, and it did end up changing, but there was definitely uncertainty throughout the later half of the season about whether there would be changes.”
There is little doubt Neil Lennon stayed in place for too long last season. Whilst it was clear there were many reasons for Celtic’s season unravelling so spectacularly, the performances and results should have resulted in an earlier managerial change. Whether that would have been enough, considering many players wished to leave, it would have offered a new manager time to get organised for the following season and those early Euro qualifiers at least. Instead, Lennon stayed on until February and even when he left, Celtic went on a torturous search for a new manager, as John Kennedy handled first team matters.
All’s well that ends well perhaps. After all Celtic under Ange Postecoglou are light years away from Celtic’s inconsistent form and questionable attitudes from last season, but there is little doubt what could have been historical season was written off by hesitancy in the boardroom, something that almost impacted on this one also, as the protracted chase for Eddie Howe threatened to derail yet another season.
Thankfully now there is a real connect returning between the support, the players and in particular the manager. Celtic are now in good hands and the days of car-park protests seem a distant memory.
Niall J
