Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
CELTS BOSS ADAMANT: I WON’T QUIT
NEIL LENNON insists he is the man to turn it around for Celtic after they were knocked out of the Europa League with another 4-1 defeat by Sparta Prague.
The Hoops went into the game with just one point from three
Group H fixtures.
Celtic have two wins in their last nine games in all competitions and are trailing Rangers by 11 points at the top of the Premiership, albeit with two games in hand.
Asked if he still backed himself to turn it around, Celtic manager Lennon said: “Of course I do. I know this group better than anybody.
“I remember at the end of last year when we lost to Rangers, everyone writing us off and we were getting slaughtered from all and sundry, be it our own supporters or everyone else in the game, saying the league was over.
“So we have been here before and we put a great run together in the second half of the season.
“It feels a little bit different, like we have a little bit more work to do but we are quite confident we will turn it around again.
“We have a lot of work to do catching up in the league but it is not beyond us, far from it.
“I have been in situations like this as a manager and a player. There is no reason to believe we won’t turn it around.
“We’re bitterly disappointed with the run we are on but we know we have the minerals to turn it around.
“We know we have to turn it around quickly but it is something that is not going to happen overnight, but I am pretty positive.
“We are out of Europe so we have to concentrate on domestic duties now, and the league is the priority.”
Lennon believes the lifestyle changes which have taken place during the Covid-19 pandemic could be affecting his squad.
He said: “We are looking a bit disjointed as a group
“They are an excellent group. I think they are lacking a bit of unity at the minute
“I don’t think it is a major football issue, I think it is more psychological than anything else.”