Sparta Prague boss handed warning before Celtic clash

Could it be a fight for the Manager title as Celtic visit Sparta Prague later this week? The pressure is on and the dugouts will certainly have hot seats.

We’ve seen all the pressure pile on Neil Lennon as results have gone against Celtic over the last couple of months. Although there has been little in the way of news from the Parkhead board the most likely scenario is that his yellow card warning continues and his job depends on a much better run of results. The home match against Sparta Prague should have been another step on the return to form, instead it was a 1-4 home disaster.

The away game against the Czech side on Thursday takes on a whole new dimension though when you read newspaper reports stating the manager’s job is very much on the line amidst tales of a club crisis. Amazingly that’s the position for Sparta Prague boss Vaclav Kotal.

Since that win away at Celtic a few weeks back their form has plummeted. They’ve lost a couple of games, leaving them behind in the Czech league as a four point gap has opened up between them and close rivals, Slavia Prague.

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As reported in the Sun, one of their former stars, Jiri Novotny reckons the Sparta boss could be out if they lose at home to Celtic:

"“Make no mistake, the manager is in serious danger of losing his job.“I’m told all is not well at Sparta and you could see why when they lose four goals at home. Slavia Prague seems a long way ahead of them.“Conceding that amount of goals to an opponent like Ceske Budejovice means the alarm bells start to ring.“They also lost three goals to Viktoria and it’s clear their defence has major issues.“Basically, the team cannot cope with any injuries and they have had a lot of them. They are missing eight players of varying abilities.”"

Celtic will be determined to put in a good performance after their own troubles recently. Hopefully some Hoops players will be keen to show some fight. And no matter what, Lennon will be keen to relieve some pressure. So nothing can be taken for granted on Thursday.

If Celtic can get a few players back in form and starting rather than injured or benched then maybe Lennon can deflect some of the pressure from this match to the opposition manager.