Lennon braced for Brown ban
● But Celtic will ‘vigorously defend’ their captain charged with improper conduct
Celtic interim manager Neil Lennon has prepared for the p o s s i b i l i t y o f c a p t a i n S c o t t Brown missing tomorrow’s Premiership match against Kilmarnock but insists he will still be taken aback if the midfielder receives a ban from the Scottish FA.
Brown faces a disciplinar y h e ar i n g a t Ha mp d e n to d ay after being issued with a notice o f c o mp l a i n t f o r i mp r o p e r conduct at the Old Firm fixture at Celtic Park on 31 March.
T h e c h a r g e a g a i n s t t h e 3 3 - y e a r - o l d m i d f i e l d e r i s u n d e r s t o o d t o r e l a t e t o h i s c e l e b r a t i o n s i m m e d i a t e l y after Celtic’s 2-1 win when he a p p e a r e d t o g e s t u r e a t t h e small contingent of R angers fans in a corner of the stadium.
Celtic have vowed to “vigorously defend” Brown at today’s hearing which was brought forward from its original date of 2 May at their reques t. If Brown does receive the potential t wo-match suspension a guilt y verdict could bring, it means he would now be free to return to action for the final Old Firm game of the season at Ibrox on 12 May.
Lennon remains hopeful the complaint will be dismissed by the disciplinary tribunal but is ready nonetheless to be without his captain against Kilmarnock tomorrow and Aberdeen at Pittodrie next weekend as the champions try to close out an eighth consecutive title win.
“We’ve been discussing it so we’ l l h ave a c o n t i n g e n c y i n p l a c e f o r S at u r d ay ’s g a me,” said Lennon. “I’d be surprised if S cott gets banned but if he d o e s we’ l l h ave s o me t h i n g lined up for that. I’m not going to pre-empt anything ahead of the hearing but I’d be surprised if he got a ban for what people are accusing him of.”
Lennon, meanwhile, is awaiting results of Kieran Tierney’s visit to a sp ecialist to assess ongoing calf and pelvic problems. The left-back could be ruled out for the rest of Celtic’s triple -treble chasing season and also miss Scotland’s Euro 2020 qualifiers against Cyprus and Belgium in June.
“We’ l l k n ow mo r e o n Fr i - d ay,” s a i d L e n n o n . “K i e r a n h a s n’t t r a i n e d w i t h u s t h i s week and saw the specialist today [Thursday]. S o he will be a doubt for Saturday at the very least.”
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In that wee room at Celtic Park, the manager’s room, he’d wait until everyone had gone away and he’d pop “his head in for a chat
Neil Lennon believes Celtic should retire the No 5 jersey in tribute to Billy Mcneill.
T h e No r t h e r n I r i s h m a n said the champions were a club “in mourning” after the death this week of the centre-back, who captained the f a mou s L i s b o n L i o n s s i d e that won the European Cup in 1967 and who also went on to manage the club.
I n t e r i m C e l t i c b o s s L e n - non backed the idea that the number which was so closely associated with Mcneill, albeit he mostly wore it on h i s s h o r t s r a t h e r t h a n o n his back when he played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, should be withdrawn.
He said: “Why not? There wi l l o n l y e ve r b e o n e B i l l y Mcnei l l f o r me. S o I t h i n k that is not a bad idea at all and hang it up there so everyone can see it for years on end.
“I can’t put into words how big a loss he is to our club.
“He was a leader of a great t e a m a n d l e a d e r o f g r e a t men.”
Celtic fans will pay tribute to Mcneill on Saturday when Kilmarnock visit Parkhead in the Ladbrokes Premiership.