Lennon doubters will have to bemoan something else now
At the kick-off, people may laugh but we wanted to play in their half
FROM first touch until last, across every blade of grass at Ibrox, Celtic rediscovered a relentless streak almost reminiscent of their most rampant, all-conquering, invincible glory days.
If this doesn’t win over the doubters still questioning Neil Lennon’s qualities as a manager, well, perhaps nothing will.
Those Hoops fans who bemoaned Lennon’s return to the club, the honest critics and angry shouters who can never forgive him for not being Brendan Rodgers or — better yet — Rafa Benitez, may soon have to find some other source of discontent.
Because, if the experienced head coach went a little OTT in describing his team’s performance yesterday as ‘perfect’, he had a point. No, it wasn’t beautiful. These games rarely are. But, in terms of putting together a tactical plan that works, Lennon could justify giving it at least nine-and-a-half out of ten.
In the circumstances, he was entitled to send a little fire back in the direction of ‘our own fans’ who had ‘written us off ’.
Drawing on all his experience of a fixture where intensity is everything and discipline — in shape and starting positions — can negate the cutest of clever ploys, Lennon was absolutely determined that his team would set the tone from the outset.
Hence a kick-off that saw Odsonne Edouard simply lash the ball into the furthest corner of the pitch, barely waiting for referee Bobby Madden to blow his whistle before executing his rugby-style kick for touch.
It worked, by the way. Celtic pressed at the line-out — sorry, throw-in — and got the ball, then used it pretty well to set the tone.
Asked if he’d been surprised that Rangers hadn’t put the visitors under more pressure from the off, Lennon explained: ‘No, because we took the game to Rangers. We dominated the start of the game.
‘I think the kick-off, everyone might have been laughing at it — but we wanted to play in their half. Which is something we didn’t do in the corresponding fixture (a 1-0 loss here on May 12).
‘We had two minutes of passing it around at the back, conceded a free-kick and were a goal down.
‘There are many ways to skin a cat. It’s a derby, it’s competitive, you have to fight fire with fire, you have to quell the crowd. We did that to perfection today.’
Questioned more closely about the high-pressing game that kept Rangers penned into their own half for long spells, Allan McGregor aimlessly shelling balls upfield for Christopher Jullien and Nir Bitton to gobble up, he added: ‘From my own experience, that’s what you have to do at times.
‘Steven (Gerrard) may change his way as he goes along. But, for this, we felt it was the right way to go about our business.
‘With the players we have, it worked in our favour. We set our stall out to be competitive, be on the front foot and take the game to Rangers. We started the game exactly as I wanted.
‘It was a perfect performance from start to finish. We were outstanding.’
Celtic’s back four, missing key central defenders and with a pair of full-backs still adapting to the hectic pace of Scottish football, was supposed to be their weak point here.
Oh, the predictions about what Rangers were going to do to that back line. X-rated stuff, apparently. Lennon, purring over the solidity that restricted the home side to shots from distance and the odd half-sniff of a chance, said: ‘You take pride in clean sheets. We looked strong. Jullien was dominant when he needed to be. He was backed up by Bitton.
‘That was a big loss for us when he went off at a crucial time in the game but Hatem (Elhamed) stepped in and did a marvellous job in both positions. (Moritz) Bauer came on and did a great job at right-back.
‘I saw everything today that we liked about Jullien, why we wanted to bring him in. Not only in the air. His physicality was so important for us today, his reading of the game, too.
‘Yes, he may lack a bit of pace. But the rest of his game is outstanding. And he’s only getting better. To show that performance under immense pressure is very satisfying as a manager.
‘When Olivier Ntcham came on, he showed how special a player he can be. But (Michael) Johnston, (Odsonne) Edouard, (Ryan) Christie, (Scott) Brown and Callum McGregor — there are some amazing players for this club.
‘I don’t want to wax too lyrical about them but they did a top-quality job today.
‘Edouard’s an outstanding centre-forward. And he’s only going to get better. Mikey (Johnston) is coming along brilliantly, too, and the work he does with Damien Duff gives him a lot of confidence.
‘You could see him reading the pass to intercept for the first goal.
‘And it’s a brilliant slide-rule ball, as well. Odsonne still had a bit of work to do to beat Allan McGregor. But he took it brilliantly. He was the coolest man in the stadium at that point.
‘So I’m grateful to have him in the team. It’s always important to have a really good centre-forward. And he’s up there with any of them at the minute.’
Almost inevitably, few exerted more influence on the game than Celtic skipper Scott Brown.
He loves this fixture. Revels in the aggression that makes the air pop. Thrills to the challenge of doing the unexpected.
Just when you think he’s going to go diving in, he executes a little half turn. Or he eschews the easy pass, the typical Scott Brown ball, to go flying past opponents and break the game open.
Grinning after hearing that his manager had singled him out for special mention as someone who had been written off by too many, the former Scotland midfielder said: ‘I just keep ticking over, I’ll keep going as long as I possibly can.
‘I enjoy playing football, I play with a smile on my face. For me, whether I play or whether I’m on the bench, the main thing for me is whether the team wins.
‘It’s not about me individually,
it’s about the team collectively. It’s different circumstances for us (from the last game here). Coming here, the manager wanted us to play higher up the park and not take too many chances at the back.
‘We let in an early goal in the last game, so we learned our lessons. For me, it’s about coming here and showing you’ve got the quality.
‘For the young ones coming through, to win away from home, that’s what this club is all about.
‘It’s about bringing young players through and showing their talent in these big games. Yet again, they have done that.
‘For the new lads, it’s hard to come to Celtic, when you see the way we press and the way we play. It’s maybe difficult for them to understand that.
‘They’re all catching up and they now understand the way we play. We dictate the game, we press high up the park, and now they’ve got that, they defended really well.’
Celtic did a lot of things very well yesterday. Repeatedly. Relentlessly. Remind you of anyone?