Fire and fury will not abate
Signs of strain on show as Lennon sees Hibs stumble towards finish line
HE gave Jim Duffy a handshake and a hug on the touchline when arriving at Cappielow and, as the seagulls swooped around the deserted ground just before he headed for the exit, did the same again.
Don’t believe for a moment, though, that Neil Lennon was sweetness and light in the period in between. When the game face is on, that is simply not the way he works.
There’s a Championship title to be won and he’s desperately unhappy with the way his Hibs side are stumbling towards it, drawing game after game yet benefiting from everyone else’s inability to exert pressure.
Signs of strain are evident. He is finding himself saying sorry to people for his behaviour. He has an SFA hearing on April 20, along with Duffy, over three charges levelled at him following those ugly scenes at Easter Road 12 days ago.
When Bobby Madden waved away a penalty claim on Saturday after a clear handball by Morton’s Mark Russell, Lennon stated he is beginning to believe there is an agenda at play among their match officials.
Asked if he felt it was against him personally or Hibs, in general, he replied: ‘I don’t know. I don’t want to sound paranoid.’
He’s sounding like a man who would benefit from a few weeks away beside the swimming pool.
The likelihood is he will place a call to John Fleming, the SFA’s head of refereeing operations, in the coming days. He may like to have John McGinn sitting beside him.
The Scotland midfielder takes no prisoners on the park but has moved to bring a touch of diplomacy to the debate, with Hibs, as a club, also facing sanctions over that mass brawl with Morton on home turf.
‘We are obviously aggrieved with decisions but, hopefully, at some stage in the season, it comes back in our favour. I don’t think there is any agenda against us,’ said McGinn. ‘The refs try their best. Sometimes, they get it right. Sometimes, they get it wrong.’
Whatever the public statements, the bad blood that existed between these two clubs didn’t appear to be completely smoothed over on Saturday.
Home defender Thomas O’Ware reported there was a minor scuffle in the dressing-room area at the end, although hardly a repeat of those awful scenes at Easter Road.
Lennon attracted predictable abuse from the home support throughout.
When Jason Cummings gave Hibs the lead after latching on to a Darren McGregor header and outpacing O’Ware, Lennon stood at the edge of his technical area, fist raised, roaring: ‘Come On’. Several times over.
Morton’s goalkeeping coach David Wylie moved towards the Hibs staff in response, not exactly offering congratulations. At timeup, he offered Lennon his hand and was blanked completely.
‘I shook hands with Jim. That should be enough,’ said the Hibs boss.
‘I don’t need to shake hands with half the crowd as well.’
Lennon’s major grievance, of course, was the failure to award a penalty on 26 minutes when Russell handled a first-time cross from Martin Boyle.
Lewis Stevenson had a penalty awarded against him for a broadly similar offence at Dunfermline and there has to be consistency in applying the rules.
That’s why Lennon stormed on to the field at the final whistle, making a bee-line for Madden. Andy Murdoch offered a handshake and was ignored, but Lennon made a point of apologising to the midfielder before leaving the ground.
‘I had tunnel vision, but I should shake the kid’s hand,’ he said. ‘That’s not good enough from me.’
Lennon has described the explanation from the ref for not awarding a penalty as ‘half-assed’. McGinn also spoke to Madden and has reiterated his manager’s call for consistent implementation of the rules.
‘I spoke to Bobby Madden, but he said it was too close,’ said McGinn. ‘It was the exact same thing that happened last week. All we want is consistency.’
It is an unwanted form of consistency from his players, however, that really has Lennon at his wits’ end. Thirteen draws this season — four in the last five games — mean this title race remains alive when it should be over and done with.
Hibs surrendered their lead here when McGregor conceded a stupid penalty for a needless tackle on substitute Jamie McDonagh, allowing Lawrence Shankland to equalise from the spot.
‘We should be winning,’ groaned Lennon. ‘I am going white here. I am. Honestly. We’re not ruthless enough and that’s the bottom line.’
McGinn was just as scathing but believes it’s only a matter of time until the long-awaited return to the Premiership is secured.
‘We’re missing stupid chances and giving away goals,’ he said.
‘It’s amateur stuff at times, but we’re still nine points clear. We’re crawling over the line, but we will get there.’
O’Ware, though, had one thing to add about Lennon’s failure to shake hands with Wylie and Murdoch at full-time.
‘I didn’t see what happened,’ he insisted. ‘I went to shake hands with the ref, then to clap the fans and went inside.
‘There was a wee scuffle inside, but it was nothing really.’