Neil Lennon has had significant support from friends and supporters this week after what happened at Celtic Park on Sunday, accordingly to his friend and former gaffer Gordon Strachan.
“60,000 people sing: ‘you’ll never walk alone.’But at this moment in time there are a few hundred people making Neil Lennon feel like he is walking alone,” the former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan told Football Pass (see below). “”But over the last couple of days he’s realised he’s not walking alone.
“His friends have gathered together to make sure he understands he doesn’t walk alone.
“The Celtic fans who all understand what’s going on will make sure he understands that as well.”
Yesterday Peter Lawwell released a statement on the club’s website in which he attempted to address the concerns of The Celtic support who have pitched up to support the club during the hardships caused by the pandemic with season ticket sales at record levels. Clubs in ‘the greatest league in the world’ south of the border must reckon that it’s just a typo when they read that Celtic has 60,000 season ticket holders this season, all of whom have simply been given access to an internet stream.
Yet the support was hit with all that stuff this week about a having a sense of entitlement.
Neil Lennon has been badly let down not by the support but by the club. He was never allowed his own backroom team and his position now is so weak that he is now in no position to demand that happens. Put it this way, if Neil Lennon were to be offered a job elsewhere it is highly unlikely that he’d ask John Kennedy and Gavin Strachan to join him at his new club.
Conversations have started to open up with people inside the club. The Celtic Board put the current management team together believing that it would work and they’d deliver Ten-in-a-Row, a GIRUY obsession we are all guilty of buying into. Few outside Glasgow’s green and blue bubbles actually care about that particular contest and when it’s over, one way or another, we really do need to begin to look to re-establishing ourselves on the European stage after frankly a depressing, frustrating and now embarrassing recent run.
The Board and the management team that they put in place can argue that they have tried their best. It may not be enough and there will be changes coming regardless but can the current squad of Celtic players say the same?
Personally I’d give a pass to Scott Brown, Callum McGregor and James Forrest because over the years they have earned it. As for the rest of them, they should be on notice that the focus will be increasing on them to deliver, to perform, to play for our jersey. Those Want-Aways, those malcontents, those half hearted performers, those towel throwers who have “chucked it” there is now nowhere to hide.
For the new arrivals they must be absolutely bewildered at what they’ve walked into and no wonder few if any have performed to the standards expected. They too now need to look at themselves and also prove that they are worthy of playing for Celtic.
And we know that this is being read. Neil Lennon, we say to you, forget 3-5-2, 4,2-3-1 or any other formation until you have eleven names of 100% committed players you can trust. The rest aren’t worth it and the window is opening in January.
So to the Celtic players we say this. Other than Scott Brown, Callum McGregor and James Forrest, you are ALL failing Celtic, failing the 60,000 who paid their money and relied on you to deliver the Ten. Collectively you are head and shoulders above any other squad in Scotland including the current league leaders. It’s time to prove it or it will be your pass to Paradise that will be revoked and there’s unlikely to be much interest from clubs you reckon will want to sign you.
Nicola Sturgeon issued a yellow card after Bolingoli’s Spanish adventure. This morning we’re doing the same on behalf of The Celtic support and we’ll not be slow in letting our readers know our thoughts going forward on the players who are embarrassing our jersey.
