Kick out the boot boys, SFA
LENNON:
HIBS boss Neil Lennon has called for the SFA to crack down on Scottish football’s boot boys.
And he reckons any players caught deliberately sticking the boot in should spend the same time on the sidelines as their victims.
Lennon, who has often called for his players to get more protection, spoke out after a shocking stamp on Celtic’s Scott Brown by Ross County’s Andrew Davies.
He said: “If a player goes in deliberately to hurt an opponent and the injured one is out for a period of time, the person making the tackle should sit out for the same length of time.”
NEIL LENNON fears careers could be ended unless Scottish football’s boot boys clean up their act.
The Hibs boss was disgusted at the X-rated challenge by Ross County’s Andrew Davies on Scott Brown that saw the Staggies skipper given a straight red card against Celtic.
It comes in a season where Lennon has pleaded for better protection for his main men – in particular rising Scotland star John McGinn.
Lennon insists something must be done after claiming some players in this country simply can’t tackle.
And he believes the SFA might have to start making sinners sit it out for the same length of time as the players they crock.
The Hibees boss said: “My worry is a player ends up with a serious injury. We could lose a very good player to the game due to heat-of-the-moment stuff or someone’s ill discipline or recklessness. “I like the speed of the
game in Scotland and the physicality. I know all about tackling, I did it all through my career, but then there is deliberately going out to hurt someone.
“I am seeing that far too often. There is a problem with tackling in Scotland – some players just can’t tackle.
“What can be done about that? Better coaching and discipline? Players need to learn to stay on their feet more.
“I’ve seen some great 50/50s. I’ve seen some great challenges. But I have also seen horrendous ones where players have made no attempt to play the ball – just the man.
“You don’t see that very often in football now but I have seen it a lot here this season. You need to play within the laws.
“A lot of time players go beyond that. They lose their emotions, get frustrated and lose their discipline.
“Players have been a bit reckless and that could have been a bad one for Scott Brown. But it’s not just him. “John McGinn has taken some
heavy punishment this season too. It’s not good for the game’s image.
“Referees, in the main, are very strong with that kind of stuff. On Saturday the ref couldn’t do anything but send the player off. Players have to take responsibility for their own individual actions.
“It’s just important we stop all of that because it’s nothing to be proud of.
“Sometimes I think that if a player goes in deliberately to hurt another player and the injured one is out for a period of time then the person making the tackle should sit out for the same time.
“Maybe that’s going too far but I don’t like to see these tackles. It’s not big, clever or hard. It’s an easy way out.
“The County player has let himself and his team down. He will miss two vital games.” One of those games is against Hibs this weekend but first Lennon’s side host Hamilton tonight.
The Northern Irishman was angered by Accies’ aggression earlier this season, branding them “cavemen”. But he said: “I have been critical of a couple of teams, it wasn’t just Hamilton. I was also very complimentary when they beat us in August. There is a balance there.
“I also wasn’t happy about St Johnstone’s tackling the other week. We can be physical as well, within the laws of the game.”
Hibs can move just a point behind Aberdeen and Rangers in the race for second with a win tonight. And the man who led Celtic to five major trophies and masterminded a win over Barcelona admitted clinching runners-up spot would rank alongside his top achievements.
Lennon said: “It’s important the players take this chance because they might never get this opportunity again.
“Finishing second in the league would be up there with anything I have achieved. It would be tremendous but we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves.”
And Lennon fears their quest will be undermined if they are forced to travel to Ibrox for a third time this season due to a fixtures anomaly.
He said: “It will be a major disadvantage. Not only for our chances of finishing second but also from a financial view as we lose out on a sellout crowd.”