Celtic legend gives his verdict on Neil Lennon as manager
By StevieMac
With Neil Lennon under immense pressure after a Glasgow Derby defeat, the Celtic legend has given his verdict on the manager.
Much of what has been published recently about Neil Lennon and his abilities won’t have been easy reading if he took more than a glance at any of it. Hopefully someone will steer the Celtic boss to an article in the Sun.
Lennon’s own ex boss at Celtic, Martin O’Neill has been backing him publicly there and stating that the criticism of the Hoops manager is unfair. Much has been written about Lennon’s team selection, tactics and formation and his coaching abilities. O’Neill takes a typical swipe at all that and dismisses it quickly.
He does of course have huge experience in football and at Parkhead to help assess matters:
"“People would probably expect me to stick up for Neil, but I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t believe it.“For one thing, this season is still in its infancy.“Secondly, he won a Treble last season and that wasn’t too bad, was it? There is a rush to judgement at times, which I understand. If you lose a big game, like to Rangers, then judgements are made.“People talk about systems and formations, back fours and back threes.“So you are open to criticism and that’s just the way it is.”"
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O’Neill did admit that the Rangers have been improving over the seasons and are pushing the hoops much harder now. He quotes last season’s League Cup final as an example of the Rangers having more than matched Celtic on the pitch, but not having the winning experience to see the game through. That lack of experience could also hit the Light Blues hard over the rest of the league season.
Does O’Neill see a disaster in the ten-in-a-row season for Lennon and Celtic? No, not yet anyway, there is a lot of football to be played. O’Neill also spoke well about Lennon’s ability to cope with the pressure and criticism, however much it hurts:
"“There is a long way to go this season. Rangers have piled pressure on Celtic, and it’s up to them to keep that going, not to drift off like they did last year.“Rangers will get a lot of confidence from winning at Celtic Park. In terms of criticism of Lennon, from where I’m sitting, I’d say that was unfair.“I think he’ll be able to deal with any criticism that’s coming his way, even though it stings.“But overall it’s part of the territory. He has been able to deal with those things in the past, and I believe he’ll be able to deal with this now.“Do I think Celtic will win the league? At their strongest, they are still better than Rangers, so I believe they will do it.”"
That’s pretty positive, is it realistic or is it just caring words for his old player to help Lennon out at a time of need? Possibly, but it’s very likely how O’Neill would have viewed the situation had he still been manager. He was never one for kind words and tended to be more realistic and hard hitting.
There is some sense in his words, there is a long way to go yet. It’s going to be a long season.