One of the most intriguing aspects of the fall-out from Celtic’s 4-1 loss to Sparta Prague on Thursday were some comments made by Neil Lennon in the direct aftermath of the game.
The Hoops boss was rightfully livid after the match, and interestingly, as reported by STV, he promised to implement a ‘culture change’ at the club.
“There needs to be a culture change within the club. I need to look at the culture, get them more hungry, get them back to basics” Lennon said, as quoted by STV.
Are sweeping changes coming to club?
So, what everyone must be thinking is what did the Celtic manager mean when he said those comments? Was it just some buzzwords, thrown about in the aftermath of a dreadful result. Did the Hoops boss mean that sweeping changes are coming to the club?
Well, we could see the evidence of the culture change in the Celtic starting line-up to face Motherwell in a must-win game on Sunday.
If the Hoops boss is serious, he will drop those players who have been underperforming recently. Even if it is big names players such as Shane Duffy, Scott Brown and Odsonne Edouard.
Trio have struggled this season
That trio has struggled this season, and seem to have played on reputation alone. A culture change would see that end, and players only selected based on how they are performing on the pitch.
If that comes as a shock to the dropped players then so be it. The Hoops have a big enough squad to deal with that.
If this new-look Celtic team gets a victory at Fir Park, then the fans will get behind a culture change. There is still time for Neil Lennon and Celtic to make this season a success. The Hoops have only played 11 league games so far.
Despite the defeat to Sparta, all is not lost this season. If a mooted culture change can turn around Celtic’s season, then that is what the manager must do, starting at Fir Park.
In other news, Celtic loanee Jonathan Afolabi suffered an injury playing for Dundee.
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