TIC OR TWIST? TWIST?
Lennon facing the ultimate derby dilemma - does he trust his set-up to go out and impose their game on Gers or does he set up to nullify threats from Gerrard’s team?
FOR Neil Lennon it’s not a matter of whether or not his players are capable of overcoming Rangers.
The trophy mountain they’ve built for themselves over these last few years is all the evidence he needs.
No, Lennon’s conundrum is not if his team can beat their old rivals. It’s a question of how? Does he go out on his shield at Ibrox today? Name his strongest starting eleven and hope that it’s functioning well enough to impose itself against the runaway league leaders and stop them in their tracks?
Or, instead, does he have to come up with a strategy which is based upon nullifying the threats which are laced through Steven Gerrard’s system?
Figure out how best to prevent James Tavrnier and Borna Barisic from ripping down his flanks.
How to flood the midfield so that Steve Davis, Glen Kamara and Joe Aribo do not have the run of the place? And how to keep guard against the swarms of attacks which are likely to come in the shape of Ryan Kent, Alfredo Morelos and Kemar Roofe.
That’s the dilemma Lennon is facing as he prepares for a match which might determine his own fate as well as that of Celtic’s quest for ten in a row. The ultimate stick or twist. And the truth of the matter is, as the clock ticks down to perhaps the most important derby of his 20 years at Parkhead, the man in charge doesn’t sound entirely sure.
“Yeah, their system is good and they’re well drilled in it so it is something we need to think about,” Lennon said when asked how he plans to approach this derby date with destiny having seen his team played off the park in the last three.
“We went 4-3-3 in the previous two games and we weren’t very good. Then we went to three at the back for the last one but the personnel wasn’t great as we didn’t have the quality that we would have liked.
“So it’s something we’ll have to think about, no question.”
The truth is, he’s shying away from nothing. Lennon knows he’s been on borrowed time since the car park started filling up a few weeks ago. He’s aware that chief executive Peter Lawwell bought him that breathing space by promising to review the situation early in the new year.
In other words, win at Ibrox or the game’s a bogey. Which arguably makes this game the biggest Old Firm test of his entire career.
Lennon nodded and said: “Yeah, they are always important but, with the position we find ourselves in, it’s important we don’t lose the game.
“We’re playing well, we’ve found a bit of form and consistency at the right time, so it’s important we take that into the game against a team that has started the season absolutely brilliantly.
“But it’s not beyond us at all. We go into the game in a positive frame of mind and take the game to Rangers as much as we possibly can.”
Again, the big question is, exactly how do
Celtic make that happen? Especially given that Lennon’s players have appeared to be almost mesmerised by the Rangers game plan over these last three meetings. Lennon said: “I wouldn’t disagree with that, it’s something we need to look at and rectify. We owe a performance to ourselves – we need to play better, be stronger and by physically better. “Look there were mitigating circumstances for the last one. We had a lot of players out with Covid and injury and we were a bit flat. “But in the previous two games Rangers were the better team here at Celtic Park and also at Hampden in the Betfred Cup Final even though we prevailed at the end. “It’s important we put in a performance. If we play crap and win I’ll still be delighted but I’d like to get the best of both worlds.” The last encounter in October was a particularly bruising one for Lennon’s pride as well as his reputation. Soundly beaten 2-0 on their home ground without mustering a single shot on Allan McGregor’s goal. It was round about then that the clamour for change started up among large sections of the Celtic support. Today then, Lennon doesn’t just get a chance to repair some of the damage. He also gets an opportunity to flip the tables on Gerrard and let his rival share some of the goldfish bowl strain. Lennon went on: “Psychologically it would give us a huge lift so that’s all in our thinking going into this game. While we are positive we’re not saying we have turned a massive corner. If we could get a result at Ibrox then you could say we are on the right track again.
“While there were aspects of our last game against Dundee United which pleased me, there were some other aspects that didn’t but we’re scoring and creating a lot of good chances and starting to look far more like ourselves.
With the position we find ourselves tant in, it’s impor not that we do . lose the game. NEIL LENNON
“You can’t take anything for granted in a derby – it’s about what happens on the day – so we’ve got to make sure it’s our day and we’re ready for it. We seem to be in a good place, the players look fresh again all of a sudden and that might be psychological more than anything else.
“There’s no element of fatigue and they’re not looking heavy legged so I think mentally we’re OK at the minute but that can all flip in 90 minutes.”
And so what is it to be? A Celtic side designed to play to its own strengths? Or one built to stymie those of Rangers?
The recent decision to reunite Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths points very much to Lennon gearing up to cross the city with all guns blazing.
The pair combined again on Wednesday when Griffiths set Edouard up for the third goal in a 3-0 win over Dundee United.
Lennon said: “We are hoping for the same on Saturday. That’s his first goal in open play for a while – in Scotland anyway.
“That will do him the world of good. It was a great finish and a lovely ball from Griff. Edouard’s a big game player, so we need him to turn up and play strongly.”