EDOUARD DISRESPECT CLAIM ‘UTTER NONSENSE’

NEIL LENNON has hit back at Neil McCann’s claim that Odsonne Edouard’s Cup final ‘Panenka’ penalty was disrespectful. The Frenchman cheekily chipped the ball over Craig Gordon to make it 2-0 at Hampden on Sunday in a match Celtic won 4-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw. Edouard’s technique, pioneered by Czechoslovakia’s Antonin Panenka in the 1976 European Championship final shootout win, left Gordon angry and the keeper was booked for throwing the ball at his former team-mate as he celebrated. Speaking on BBC Sportsound, analyst McCann said he could understand Gordon’s furious reaction, adding: ‘I think that’s pretty disrespectful.’ However, asked if he would advise the Frenchman against a repeat should Celtic get a penalty at home to Ross County tonight, Lennon firmly backed his striker. The Celtic boss said: ‘What, you want me to caution Odsonne for scoring a penalty in a cup final? Come on! ‘The Panenka has been around since 1976. I’ve seen great players doing it. Andrea Pirlo did it against England (at Euro 2012). ‘I don’t remember any of them getting criticised or being called disrespectful. It’s complete and utter nonsense! ‘Listen, I’ve seen players blast penalties over the bar, hit the post, scuff the ball and I’ve seen goalies making good saves.

‘I’ve seen Odsonne miss a penalty this year already and that (Panenka style) is just his way of assessing the situation and executing it. So he has my blessing to do whatever he wants — as long as he scores. ‘You cannot ask anyone to warn a player after he scores a beautiful goal in a really important cup final: “Don’t do that again, some people think it’s disrespectful”. Meanwhile, Lennon looks set to be without captain Scott Brown and defender Shane Duffy for tonight’s league visit of Ross County. But Conor Hazard is set to keep his place in goal after the 22-year-old’s penalty heroics against Hearts offset earlier mistakes in Sunday’s final. County ended Celtic’s dominance of domestic cup competitions last month when they knocked Lennon’s side out of the Betfred Cup 2-0 at Parkhead. Lennon said: ‘We will need to freshen the team up because the final took a lot out of them. There might be a couple missing from Sunday but they should be okay for Boxing Day (away to Hamilton). ‘Is Conor Hazard ready to go again? Yes, I think he should be. He made two great penalty saves to win us the Scottish Cup and his confidence should be sky high. ‘He has a bit of learning to do, a bit of improving to do, but he made a huge contribution for us on Sunday. ‘But we also know we need to play better against Ross County than we did in the Betfred Cup game.’