VIDEO NASTY CAN SPARK RESPONSE
Celtic boss keen to avoid more horrors:
AT a club like Celtic, where a fast and frantic schedule often crams three games into a week, the focus always shifts to the next match. Yesterday, however, Neil Lennon made a rare exception. Not normally an advocate for raking over the coals of a bad result, the manager saw no choice but to examine Thursday’s abject performance against Sparta Prague in all its gory detail.
The mere act of forcing his players to watch a re-run of the 4-1 Europa League defeat may have felt like a punishment in itself but with scrutiny of his own position heightening, Lennon is now in crisis management mode.
‘We had a meeting and went through the game again which is something I haven’t done for a long, long time,’ said Lennon yesterday afternoon. ‘I wanted them to see it and we got a few points across.
‘We have to show a much better attitude and apply ourselves a lot better to games because the level of performance was unacceptable.
‘We went through the game and then, at the end, the players had their say too. I’d also had a bit of a say after the game on Thursday and so they are now clear on what is required.
‘Listen, they are honest enough to know that it was a disappointing performance, considering the standards we have set over the years. We need to get our consistency back, whether it be
‘IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN OVERNIGHT BUT I WANT TO SEE A CHANGE IN ATTITUDE AND APPLICATION. WE NEED TO GET THE HUNGER BACK’
from a physical, playing point of view or mentally, switching back on.
‘Because we’ve lost concentration at times. We started the game quite well. First 20 minutes was fine and then we got very ragged with the ball, which was very unlike us.’
Lennon was altogether less expansive on the contents of the conversation he held with major shareholder Dermot Desmond in the wake of Thursday’s humiliation — ‘a private conversation’ — but it’s safe to say he would not have been offered a pay rise by the Dublin-based powerbroker.
A couple of weeks ago Lennon claimed there was ‘no justification’ for sacking him. The claim is starting to look thinner and a victory today would seem an absolute minimum if he is to have any chance of salvaging the club’s bid for a tenth title in a row.
There were a few eye-catching sub-plots to Thursday’s drama, much of it generated by BT Sport’s television cameras.
First, a shot of Moi Elyounoussi furtively checking his mobile phone just moments after being substituted caused pundit Chris Sutton to claim the player should be fined two weeks’ wages.
Lennon also reacted bullishly to being told about the footage but has since absolved the Norwegian international. Insisting there would ‘absolutely not’ be any punishment for the Southampton loanee, he said: ‘There’s no issue. Moi has already come out and said he was just checking the results.
‘I will take his word for that. He is a great lad. So there is no fall-out.’
Sutton’s accusations that Leigh Griffiths was both ‘overweight and out of shape’ prompted the striker to seek out his accuser at the stadium after the match.
A friend and former team-mate of Sutton’s, Lennon is backing his player on that one.
‘Pundits are pundits and Chris is no different from anybody else,’ he said. ‘Whether I agree with it or not is another thing.
‘Leigh can hold his own with anybody. He has our full backing. He scored when he came on. In terms of his contribution, I was really pleased with him.’
Griffiths has now scored three times from the bench in recent weeks and is included in Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for the Euro 2020 play-off against Serbia.
Depending on which formation Lennon chooses to deploy, he may even start either alongside or in place of Odsonne Edouard today.
‘It’s a possibility,’ agreed Lennon. ‘He started against Milan a few weeks ago but didn’t last. The way we are using him is beneficial for both him and the team.’
Perversely, the fact today’s game is away from home may actually be a blessing. Celtic have looked ill at ease performing in the cavernous surrounds of their own stadium.
If opposition from near and far have left the east end of Glasgow spooked by a capacity crowd in full voice, Celtic look haunted by the process of trying to perform in front of 60,000 empty seats.
Across the c i t y, the reverse seems true.
Before
Covid cut last season short, Rangers looked drained and demoralised by the task of chasing down Celtic and lost to Hamilton
Accies in their last domestic home match before the curtailment.
Wi t h o u t the pressure exerted by a demanding Ibrox crowd, they have transferred their training-ground principles to a stadium environment without fear of verbal reprisal.
Three consecutive home losses and 14 goals shipped in the last six games point to Celtic’s specific defensive troubles but with last year’s firstchoice partnership of Kris
Ajer and Christopher Jullien close to returns, there is some prospect of restoring order in the weeks ahead. Ajer will likely feature today, while Jullien’s back injury should allow a return after the international window. Regardless, the loan signing o f Brighton ’s Shane Duffy has not been by any measure a success. Seen as a perfect fit for the hurly burly of Scottish football, the Irish international has struggled to settle i nto either a back three or four and was badly exposed in midweek.
Lennon added: ‘We have a duty of care to the player whether he is struggling with confidence or not. ‘That’s the same with every player. I manage it the best way I see fit. Sometimes it’s not for public consumption. ‘Shane seems to be under the spotlight. That’s the nature of the game up here. You’ve got to show personality and character and come through it. I’m sure he will.’
It would grossly understate Celtic’s problems to make Duffy a scapegoat. Alongside him Nir Bitton, recently restored to the team after a bout of Covid, was hesitant while recent events have exposed the flaws in Jeremie Frimpong’s game.
Although the Dutch full-back remains an exciting and forceful ball carrier, the teenager’s defensive qualities are at best under-cooked.
Of the starting backline, only Diego Laxalt earned passmarks.
‘We are not keeping as many clean sheets as I would like,’ admitted Lennon. ‘Defensively, we have to do better at set-plays and generally be better as a unit.
‘We were a bit individualistic on Thursday and didn’t stay connected — and that was half the problem.
‘Thursday was too soon for Kris (Ajer) but he is back in contention for Motherwell.
‘Jullien was back in for the first time today (Saturday) but he is feeling better and he will now have a few weeks of physical work.’
Yesterday’s summit represented a first salvo in addressing what he calls a required shift in culture.
Famously and quite deliberately less confrontational in his second spell managing the club, Lennon has started to bare his teeth again.
‘It’s not going to happen overnight but I want to see a change in attitude and application, get the
hunger back,’ he admitted. ‘Because it just felt like the hungrier team on Thursday was Sparta. That needs to be remedied very quickly.’
Celtic’s problems are real and, in a European context, deep-seated. If Lennon claimed not to know where Thursday’s performance came from, those fans who sat through the trauma of exiting knock-out ties to Cluj, Copenhagen and Ferencvaros over the past 18 months would point to a distinct pattern.
Yet, domestically, Celtic have hoovered up the last 11 prizes on offer and reached another cup final as recently as last Sunday.
On that basis, Lennon expresses confidence that they will rebound.
‘Oh yeah. I know what I’ve got in there,’ he said. ‘We’ve got to stay on point. We’ve been a bit inconsistent. I think there’s been a bit of transition for some.
‘Every season is not going to bring a big improvement. We had a great season last year but we have plateaued a little bit.
‘But there is more to come from the team and, hopefully, that will start this weekend.’