It was written in the stars how Celtic would defeat Kilmarnock. In the week of the death of Celtic’s most famous number five, Billy McNeill, the current number five, Jozo Simunovic, scored the only goal of the game in the 67th minute.
The goal was a fitting tribute to McNeill, and the win took Celtic to within one point of eight in a row. But not for the first time, the performance under interim manager Neil Lennon was poor.
Indebted to goalkeeper
The first-half in particular was a slog. The Hoops were indebted to goalkeeper Scott Bain for a series of saves which kept the game scoreless.
Lennon’s decision to reintroduce Tom Rogic and Scott Sinclair didn’t work out either. Both players failed to impose themselves on the game.
It is hard to criticise Lennon for taking the job when he did, in the wake of Brendan Rodgers’ departure. And the Hoops do keep pulling victories out of the hat.
Performances have been poor
But the performances have been poor. With trips to Pittodrie and Ibrox on the horizon the Hoops will need to improve to pick up six points from those games.
With Celtic on the verge of another treble, perhaps it is understandable why a new manager has not been announced.
But as the poor performances continue, more doubts will emerge about Lennon’s suitability to be named as Celtic manager once more.
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