Stop talking down the Scottish game

Lennon hits out at Boyd for ‘idiotic’ comments on quality

ADDRESSING Kris Boyd’s claim that no great players currently ply their trade in Scotland’s top league, Neil Lennon offered a withering response.

The Celtic boss, citing the former Rangers striker’s quest to be controversial, bluntly derided him for his ‘idiotic’ remarks.

It was in the wake of the Parkhead club’s 4-1 victory over Ross County in Dingwall at the weekend that the former Scotland international, speaking in his capacity as a Sky Sports pundit, insisted the label ‘great’ should be reserved for world superstars like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Yet, of the view Parkhead stalwarts Callum McGregor and James Forrest could comfortably hold their own alongside Virgil van Dijk, John McGinn and Andrew Robertson at the top level in England, Lennon countered: ‘I think it’s an idiotic statement to make.

‘Give me £50million and I’ll bring in a load of players here and we’ll see what we can do with them. But we just don’t have that financial back-up English teams have.

‘John McGinn could potentially go on to be a great player. Callum McGregor, I think, is a great player.

‘But how do you compare them? If you went and put them in the Premier League, would they thrive in it? No question.

‘John McGinn already is. Callum would, James Forrest would, Andrew Robertson is a great player who was playing in Scotland three or four years ago.

‘For me, it’s folly and doesn’t make a lot of sense to say these things. I get that pundits like Kris have to be controversial and make these sort of statements but it doesn’t wash with me.

‘We have to talk the game up here, not talk it down.’

The manager who snapped up van Dijk for £2.2m from Groningen while Holland’s biggest clubs showed fatal hesitation, Lennon believes the Liverpool central defender deserved to win the Ballon D’Or ahead of Messi on Monday night. And he cites the Dutchman as evidence of the heights current Premiership players like Odsonne Edouard, Alfredo Morelos and McGregor can reach given time and opportunity.

‘It depends how you define great,’ continued Lennon. ‘If he (Boyd) is comparing everyone to Messi and Ronaldo then… but Van Dijk played in Scotland not so long ago.

‘Do we have a (Kevin) De Bruyne or a (Eden) Hazard? Maybe not. But did we ever have great players at that level?

‘Maybe Henrik (Larsson). But the way the game is changing, you have to go and spend £30m to bring these players now.

‘Listen, we had Virgil. Can we go and create more great players along the way? Of course we can.

‘We talk ourselves down and we have to talk the game up.

‘Whether it’s petty jealousy or something, I don’t know. ‘I don’t know what his (Boyd’s) mode of thinking is, making a statement like that.’ While Boyd and Sportsmail columnist Kris Commons have joined fans in the Edouard-Morelos debate, Lennon believes the Scottish league is blessed by the presence of two fine strikers.

Like Van Dijk before them, he sees two footballers destined to play in bigger, more competitive leagues.

‘They are two great players,’ said Lennon (left). ‘They are different in style and bring a lot of quality to both teams.

‘Fans will compare. Young fans or old fans. That’s what all supporters do when there is a rivalry there and I don’t mind that at all.

‘We have more than two top players in the country.

‘They are two excellent centreforwards and they are the ones that make a difference, I suppose.’

Lennon recalls a similar debate over the merits of Van Dijk when he wore a green-and-white shirt.

England’s top clubs hummed and hawed about taking a punt on a player performing in the Premiership. Four years later, the defender has just been pipped for the title of the world’s best player by Messi.

‘People talk about the rise Virgil made but he was that player four years ago,’ said Lennon. ‘He’s now playing at what’s perceived to be a higher level and we can’t argue with that.

‘We’re very proud of him and I’m disappointed for him because I felt he deserved (to win).’

The frustration for Celtic and Scottish football has never

changed. Van Dijk didn’t miraculously acquire the skills to become a £70m defender the minute he crossed the border to join Southampton, then Liverpool. They were always there.

And Lennon suspects the same is the case with players like Edouard, Morelos and McGregor.

‘Loads of scouts were ringing me when he was here and I’m saying to them: “What are you waiting on?”,’ said Lennon. ‘Is it because he plays in Scotland? Well, he’d already played for us in the Champions League. It was there right in front of them.

‘Yes, he has gone on to play well in England — but he was already that player when he was up here in Scotland.

‘Edouard and Morelos are the same. They are already those players and they are both doing it in Europe as well.

‘I think they could potentially go on to have great careers. They already are. I think they will be great players anywhere.

‘You guys can make that judgment on Edouard or Morelos, or McGregor or Forrest.

‘Could they go and play in England? Of course they could.’

Edouard was one of five injured players to return to training yesterday. Only one — Olivier Ntcham — is likely to play a part in tonight’s Premiership home clash with Hamilton as the league leaders look to preserve a tenuous lead over Rangers at the summit on goal difference.

Dismissing any discussion over Sunday’s Betfred Cup final, Lennon claimed: ‘I don’t think they are in that mind of thinking. We will be strong tomorrow, really strong.

‘Then we can adapt to what happens after that for Sunday. Our focus is on Hamilton. All the other talk, I get it. It is a huge game coming up, but we are not giving it much thought, other than a bit of prep work that we always do for the next one coming up.

‘As far as Hamilton is concerned, we have to win the game.’