NEIL TENNON
Celts boss insists Green Brigade won’t drive him out of club Under-fire gaffer says he’s loving the pressure of title race Claims there’s no evidence he can’t lead Bhoys to glory
NEIL LENNON insists he has absolutely no reason even to think about quitting Celtic.
And the defiant Parkhead boss has admitted he’s actually ENJOYING some of the severe scrutiny – as it’s making him stronger.
Lenny says he’s feeling no external pressures as he battles to get the champs back to their best. The Celtic boss had to respond after a banner
NEIL LENNON has been through every emotion over 20 years at Celtic. But right now he’s never been more motivated.
Lennon knows the territory. One week a wonder, one week a disaster, as he put it.
The Parkhead boss is fully aware that the line often sits right in the middle but what’s not halfway is his renewed desire to keep Celtic at the top.
Some individuals could crumble in the face of intense scrutiny, suffocating pressure and over-the-top abuse.
Lennon is the opposite. His commitment to the club is unswerving, his thirst for success unquenchable.
And perhaps most importantly that hunger and motivation remains firmly intact.
There was a banner held up outside Celtic Park before his pre-Prague training session.
Rather than have him rip up his boarding pass for the flight, it merely strengthened his resolve to get on the plane and deliver. Did it hurt? After such a long, successful service it must have done – even though he chose the word disappointed.
He said: “I think it’s just a sign of the times. You’re either a one-week wonder or a one-week disaster.
“With all the media platforms and the so-called expert opinions I really don’t engage with it. I step away and look at the facts.
“I have been here 20 years and the club means everything to me.
“It will continue to mean everything to me after that. Listen, whether it’s fair or not it’s the way of the world.
“I’m here as the face of the team and I enjoy that privilege immensely. It’s a privilege managing this club and this group of players.
“I think we’ve done pretty well since I came back in and even in the spell we had great success. We are looking for more of the same but I can’t control what outsiders do and whether they keep their anonymity or not.
“I have been strong my whole career. I’m so motivated. So motivated.”
The fire within Lennon burns but there’s also a calm, a perspective.
Obviously he wants his team to be playing better. Naturally he doesn’t want to be 11 points behind Rangers in the Premiership or facing a Europa League exit. But Lennon made a fair point as he said: “We haven’t lost anything yet. And we are here to try to repeat what we did in the previous years.
“We have to be calm and have a sense of perspective and share that with the players as well.
“Look, I’ve been in worse situations in my managerial career and also my own football career. Maybe some fans or players haven’t been through a real test like this before.
“But it’s my job, certainly from the players’ point of view, to cajole them through it and I do believe they’ll hit a run of form and momentum to get going.
“We have won nine, drawn three and lost one. In the three draws we’ve given away silly penalties that have cost us six points.
“If we eradicate that we’ll be there or thereabouts and we’ve
I have been here 20 years and the club means everything to me NEIL LENNON ON HIS FEELINGS FOR CELTC
got games in hand. We could win them and the gap then isn’t as big as it probably looks on paper. The reality is we’ve been a little bit inconsistent but that’s no different from any other season.
“Our rivals are going very well and we have to stay around, stay strong and push through it. There is plenty of football to go.
“In the Europa League, we go to Prague now knowing we need to win the game. So we’re looking for a really strong performance.”
The question now is whether Lennon will get it. Celtic were hammered by Sparta on their own patch on a night when he spoke about changing the culture in the dressing room.
He used words such as “lazy” during his post-match analysis at Easter Road last weekend to describe some moments from his players in the 2-2 draw.
But he said: “I want to get the best out of the squad. They are the most important people at the club and they have been under a lot of scrutiny as well. Unfairly I think.
“There’s just been a narrative of negativity and it’s my job to protect them from that and support them as best I can.
“In recent games, we were twice behind at Aberdeen and scored three second-half goals at Pittodrie, which we haven’t done for a while.
“We won 4-1 at Motherwell, we won a Scottish Cup semi-final and we were 2-0 down at the weekend but responded by showing great fortitude and belief to get a point.
“There were no signs there the players have given up on anything. We have a title challenge and it’s something we should really embrace. The team has achieved great things over the years and this would just be another one.
“We have lost one game in this calendar year domestically, so I think over the piece we have been pretty good. We are in another final. Once that’s out of the way we go for another one and try to achieve another Treble if
we can.”