Rangers fans’ statement ‘laughable’, says Lennon

Manager claims players deserved more credit for Ibrox win

Neil Lennon believes Hibernian’s deserved 3-2 win over Rangers at Ibrox was wrongly overshadowed by the fallout from his goal celebrations.

The Hibs head coach was the subject of complaints to police after briefly cupping his ears and raising a fist towards the Ibrox main stand when Simon Murray levelled in a tempestuous Ladbrokes Premiership encounter. Police later confirmed the Northern Irishman would not face any action.

In a rancorous aftermath, Gers boss Pedro Caixinha criticised referee John Beaton’s decision to send off Ryan Jack for a clash with Anthony Stokes, who was earlier booked for wrestling James Tavernier to the ground. And, when it was suggested to Lennon that Light Blues assistant manager Helder Baptista had spoken to the police about him, he replied: “He should have got back in his box”.

Lennon was later accused by Rangers fan group Club 1872 of “inflammatory” actions and the former Celtic manager claimed it all took the shine off a fine win for his side.

He said: “Why it was front page news? There is so much more going on in Scotland and around the world and there I find myself on the front page on Monday for celebrating a goal. It is disproportionate.

“We won the game. It was a massive deflection and distraction from what my players did, the way we set the team out, the football way we played and the win.

“Ifitwasn’tme,itwasthereferee,which is fine. People can comment on how they see the game afterwards, they are entitled to their opinion, but we went to Ibrox in a really hostile environment, stood up to the challenge and came away with a fantastic three points and I think that has been really poorly overlooked by the mainstream media.”

Speaking before Jack’s red card was rescinded, Lennon added: “Possibly Anthony Stokes could have been sent off, most football people would agree with that. Ryan leant his head into Anthony, he has previous with that, he got away with it last season.

“Graham Dorrans grabbed Vykintas Slivka by the neck, Alfredo Morales went through the back of Dylan McGeouch on three occasions and ended up getting a yellow but these things happen. It was a difficult game to handle.”

Lennon admitted his relief that police decided to take no action and expects the Scottish Football Association compliance officer Tony McGlennan to follow suit.

And he was scathing when asked about the statement issued by Club 1872.

He said: “Laughable. Insignificant. Never heard of them. Looked like it was written by a 15-year-old. I was aware of it but I don’t need to comment on it.”

Meanwhile,Lennonhassigned20-yearold Manchester City winger Brandon Barker on loan ahead of Saturday’s visit of Hamilton.

Picture: SNS. Neil Lennon thinks the reaction to his goal celebration overshadowed a fine Hibs performance.