Senior BBC journalist and well-known Scottish football writer Tom English has criticised Neil Lennon for his celebration at Dens Park.
Celtic took a vital 1-0 win from Dundee after Odsonne Edouard’s 96th minute goal won the day. Lennon’s reaction to the goal was to dart down the touchline and celebrate in front of the Celtic fans at the corner flag.
Given the fact Celtic had just gone 10 points clear thanks to the goal, you could easily see why Lenny was so delighted.
Unless of course you’re Tom English. Here’s a look at English’s reaction to the celebration on Twitter.
Time to start taking emotion out of the game?
English’s points are so selective it’s frightening.
Celtic fans have not mocked Rangers manager Steven Gerrard for celebrating to any great degree. Where some fans get a laugh is out of the pitch invations at the likes of Livingston and St Johnstone.
But English’s point here is of course solely on Lennon, and that he feels he took it too far. No doubt he’s not the only journalist or football fan in Scotland who thinks this either.
The truth is that there was absolutely nothing wrong with Lennon’s actions here. He simply runs over to the Celtic fans in gleeful fashion thanks to Edouard’s goal. It’s a goal that may very well have just secured eight-in-a-row, and a massive one for Lennon’s future too.
Whether you like him or not as a manager, you can’t deny that goal was huge for him personally. Back-to-back slip ups against Aberdeen and Dundee would’ve been tough for any case he puts forward to be the permanent Celtic manager.
And Lennon is simply an emotional tactician. He likes to show his feelings when a goal is scored or his frustrations when things aren’t going his way. It’s important not to cross a line in terms of decency, but Lennon hasn’t.
Not everyone, of course, is as expressive as Lennon in his feelings during a match. For some reason, the interim Celtic manager’s conduct just rubs people up the wrong way, even if there’s nothing wrong with his actions.
Why is it so hard to shake off the idea that English is just a tad bitter? I’m sure he’s not the only one to be fair.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
