Board need to call time on this grim Groundhog Day
Lennon can’t be blamed for everything but his superiors must put him out of his misery
THE annual Groundhog Day celebrations made famous by the 1993 Bill Murray movie will be held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, tomorrow.
Celtic have, just like Murray in the romantic comedy, been reliving the same nightmarish 24 hours over and over again for many, many months now, but it has been no laughing matter.
The 2-1 defeat they suffered to St Mirren on Saturday – their first to the Paisley club at Parkhead in nearly 31 years – followed an all-too-familiar script.
The reigning Scottish champions failed to perform at an acceptable level in any department, conceded a goal as a result of some slapstick defending by Shane Duffy and slumped to an ignominious loss.
Their fans were incensed and demanded that Lennon, who publicly condemned many of his players for their performances in his post-match interview, be sacked.
It has been the same old story since a 2-1 defeat to Ferencvaros of Hungary in a Champions League qualifier in the East End of Glasgow way back in August.
It was pretty much what happened during and after the games to Rangers in the Premiership in October, Sparta Prague in the Europa League, Ross County in the Betfred Cup in November and St Johnstone in the league in December.
However, following each reverse, each setback, each slip-up, each humiliation, supporters woke up, opened their eyes and found nothing had changed.
It is time for those who are calling the shots at Celtic to say “that’s a wrap” – if only out of respect for Lennon and all he has given them over the past two decades – and look at who can ensure the next instalment of their story is a more successful one.
It was impossible not to feel sympathy for the Northern Irishman at the weekend. His second spell at the helm of his boyhood heroes has unravelled in front of his eyes. But he is still having to soldier on regardless and front up to the fallout.
Some say he should just walk away of his own volition. But he would be giving up on his compensation pay-out if he took that route. He is quite correct to hold out for what he is entitled to contractually. It is incumbent on his superiors to do the right thing. Lennon has been in an unfortunate position for some time now. The coronavirus outbreak last year wreaked havoc in football as well as the wider world. Players who were hoping to depart in the summer have had to remain because of Covid-19 as well as the bid to complete 10-In-ARow. Their commitment has been questionable.
Was it any coincidence that several key performers were anonymous just days after Jeremie Frimpong was allowed to join Bayer Leverkusen of Germany in a £11.5 million transfer?
Odsonne Edouard scored a first-half equaliser against St Mirren at the weekend to take his tally for the season to 14. It is a decent enough return from a striker, but his all-round play lacked sparkle. He has not scaled the heights of previous campaigns consistently. He is not the only one either.
Duffy, the Republic of Ireland centre-half whose capture from Premier League outfit Brighton on a season-long loan in September was hailed as a major coup, can’t be accused of not caring. His only failing has been his woeful form.
Lennon can’t be blamed for the poor contribution of the 41-times capped 29-year-old. Duffy has shown often enough in the Premier League and on the international stage that he is a fine footballer on his day. Bringing him on board made sense. The sudden loss of his father last year and being apart from his young family have clearly affected him badly.
So why has he started? Lennon has certainly made his share of mistakes. His team selections and formations have not worked at times. His defiant public defence of the warm-weather training break in Dubai last month amid rising infection rates was ill-advised given the political climate. Being so critical of his charges, too, will not have gone down well in the dressing room.
However, many of the problems are not of his making. The attitude of many of his highly-paid charges has been a disgrace. He has had to deal with injuries to key men and the loss of others to
positive tests. Matches have been cancelled and momentum lost. This has been a season too far for his talismanic skipper, Scott Brown, as well.
Before the defeat to St Mirren on Saturday it was expected that Lennon would remain in situ until the summer and then move on along with chief executive Peter Lawwell as part of a major overhaul of football operations.
Standing by the man who won five consecutive domestic trophies after replacing Brendan Rodgers in 2019 was considered the safest option if Celtic were to secure second spot in the Premiership and challenge for the Scottish Cup.
However, bringing the curtain down on his second spell in charge and making his assistant John Kennedy or even his firstteam coach Gavin Strachan interim boss seems the most sensible course of action now.
Celtic’s chances of finishing runners-up and securing a place in the second Champions League qualifying round are in serious jeopardy.