Lennon happy with booking as it made him ‘calm down’

CELTIC boss Neil Lennon praised the introduction of yellow cards for managers after being cautioned for the first time in his coaching career during yesterday’s 3-1 home win over Kilmarnock. In the summer, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) announced that managers will now be issued with yellow and red cards as part of new regulations aimed at cleaning up touchline behaviour. Lennon was booked by referee Greg Aitken for his animated protests after Celtic captain Scott Brown was penalised for a sliding challenge on Osman Sow late in yesterday’s encounter. And while he felt his caution was harsh, the Northern Irishman believes the new early-warning system will ultimately prevent managers from being sent to the stands. ‘It’s great, it’s like a warning to calm down,’ said Lennon. ‘I’ve no issue with it at all. ‘I was talking recently about not losing my temper any more. I didn’t lose it that badly but now you get a warning and that’s it. ‘I was voicing my opinion to the fourth official, maybe a bit demonstrably, and you’re not allowed to do that any more. ‘I wasn’t happy with the yellow as I thought I reacted the same way any other manager would have reacted. ‘I was a bit disappointed with the penalty but I’m not going to criticise the referee for that. Overall, I thought he was fine.’ Lennon, who hopes injuries to Christopher Jullien and Moritz Bauer are not serious, was delighted with a display which saw Odsonne Edouard hit two goals and Ryan Christie net the third after Killie took an early lead through Eamonn Brophy. ‘That was an absolutely superb performance,’ said the Celtic manager. ‘I’m getting everything I want from this team at the moment. ‘The 1-1 scoreline flattered Kilmarnock at half-time. They had one real chance. It was a great goal by Brophy but he got a bit of luck with the deflection. ‘Before that, we had peppered Kilmarnock’s goal and thoroughly merited the equaliser when it came. ‘Some of our play for 15 to 20 minutes after half-time was absolutely outstanding. Their keeper (Laurentiu Branescu) made some world-class saves. ‘It was a great performance against a very good team, who don’t concede much.’ Kilmarnock boss Angelo Alessio, who saw midfielder Alan Power miss a late penalty, said: ‘We played a good game. We went 1-0 up on the counter-attack but then it was a shame because we lost a goal at the end of the first half. ‘It might have changed something if we had gone into the changing room at 1-0 at half-time. ‘This is a tough game, though. Celtic have a lot of players who can decide the game. ‘In the second half, they pushed very high and we made two mistakes — and Edouard scored two goals. ‘We created a few good chances, including the penalty kick, but Fraser Forster made a good save and we move on.’ Meanwhile, former Celtic owner Fergus McCann predicted the club’s domestic domination will continue as he made a rare return to Glasgow. Performing the half-time draw, McCann said: ‘I watch from afar and I see the team growing and getting better every day, every week, every game, every season. ‘And I’m with you as we look forward to nine more in a row.’