LILLE LILLE STEPS
Shadow Hoops side give Lenny a massive lift
CELTIC’S fringe players came in from the cold to beat Lille last night and give beleagured manager Neil Lennon something to smile about at last.
The Hoops manager has come under intense pressure in recent weeks from the Park head faithful after a dismal run of just two wins in 11 games–and two separate votes of confidence from the boardroom.
But goals from Christopher Jul lien, Call um McGregor and David Turnbull were the catalyst for
a much needed tonic ahead of Sunday’ s visit of Kilmarno ck and next week’ s Scottish Cup final
Lennon said: “It was a great win, it was a nice way to finish off what has been a di s appointing group but there was a lot of good energy out there, three goals at home and it was a really competitive game for this stage of the competition.”
Scotland midfielder Turnbull has had to be patient since his move from Motherwell but Celtic’s £ 3m signing grabbed his opportunity with both hands, firing home from the edge of the penalty area
– and Lennon was delighted.
He said: “He was excellent. He had coronavirus and that laid him up for a quite a while so it was just a question of being careful with him.
“He needed game time – he did really well, we know what a talented player he is and hopefully we will see the best of him now.”
A mistake from skip per for the night Call um Mcgregor allowed Lille to equalise in the first half - but he made amends by cooly stroking home a penalty. Lennon heaped praise on the Scotland star, saying: “Call um is a modern day great and I have no issue with him – I am delighted for him that he got the goal tonight.”