LENNY I’M LIVID
Celtic Celtic boss slams players afterboss slams players after Buddies victory
Under-siege Celtic boss Neil Lennon insists his players have let him down in their failed quest for 10 in a row.
The Hoops suffered yet another hammer blow yesterday by losing to St Mirren – their first defeat to the Paisley club at Parkhead in 31 years.
Lennon’s side have now lost more league games in January 2021 than they did in the whole of 2020 – with Rangers 23 points clear in the Premiership title race.
Lenny said: “It was dreadful, just not good enough.
“The first-half performance was baffling, short of energy and confidence. And short of any
quality q at all. There’s nobody n here so there’s no pressure p on the players.
“But there has been no consistency. c We’ve gone from being a really good team at the beginning of lockdown to coming back with our attitude, intensity and behaviour dissipated, for whatever reason.
“Individuals and their level of performance or fitness, ultimately, yes, I’m responsible for that.
“That’s why I’ve taken heav y cr it icism. But other people should be accountable too.
“Are players letting me down? Honestly, at this minute I think they are. And they have done for quite a while this season.
“It’s difficult to turn it around. You’re looking for motivation, ideas. We’ve tried different formations.
“I think the mindset of the players has changed. If
we play like that we’re going to win nothing.
“And if we play with no intensity – just fulfilling a fixture – we’re not going to win anything.
“Maybe the pressure of doing the 10 has been too much for them.
“Maybe they’ve just got tired of winning, tired of playing in Scotland, living in Scotland – I don’t know.
“That’s a question you need to ask them.”
Lennon’s Celtic future will again be called into question but he wants to bring in Preston centreback Ben Davies before the transfer window closes tomorrow night.
Premier League side Burnley are also interested in Davies but the Hoops are well down the road with a pre-contract offer.
Lennon, who wants other signings too, added: “Hopefully we can get it tied up before the deadline. We’d like it to happen.
“We’re certainly hoping to get some business done in the next day or two.”