Celtic manager Neil Lennon issued a snappy response when asked about the improvement Rangers had made under Steven Gerrard.
Chris Sutton held a one-to-one interview with the boss for BT Sport as part of their incredible nine-hour coverage of today’s Betfred Cup final.
Everyone and their granny have been quick to tell us how good Gerrard has done at Ibrox since he joined. So much so that you could be forgiven for thinking it’s them that’s chasing their 10th consecutive trophy today.
However, Neil clearly wasn’t interested in pandering to Rangers and their improvement. Snapping back at Sutton, Lenny said the following:
“Don’t ask me that (about Gerrard’s Rangers improvement). It’s not my place to comment on other managers. It’s certainly our biggest rivalry. I think what gets overlooked is that we’ve improved as well.
“They have to get a win eventually, but we’re gonna try to make sure it doesn’t happen on Sunday.”
Lennon summing up the frustrations of supporters
This is brilliant to see from Lenny. He isn’t interested in bigging up the trophyless Rangers for next to no reason. And in a way you could say his response is symbolic of the frustrations that some of us have in the support.
For me, it’s tiresome hearing some of the desperation about how much Rangers have improved. It feels as though it gets slammed into your face when they string a few wins together. Meanwhile, our incredible run of 11 wins in-a-row hardly feels like it gets mentioned outside of our own club.
The reality is, Gerrard has improved Rangers. We know it and we get it. He’s done fine. Has he won anything? Absolutely not. So have Rangers started lowering their standards then? Is not winning anything but showing signs of improvement enough? It certainly was last season.
Gerrard has hardly proved to be some sort of Messiah. He failed to halt Celtic from winning their third domestic treble last season. Since when was that considered a success at Ibrox? Yet still it feels as though both clubs get similar levels of praise for such a differing level of success.
Europe this season has been a prime example. Make no mistake, both sides have done well. However, what hardly gets a mention is that Celtic have been significantly more impressive in their results. Our incredible 13-point tally after five games has somehow been tied in as a joint-success with Rangers’ eight. (Daily Record, Scottish Sun)
Lennon is right to feel our success or improvement is sometimes overlooked. Today, we have a glorious chance to stand out on our own.
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