Celtic players called out live on air; Lambert's ruthless verdict on Lennon flops

By David Walton

March 2, 2021

The Celtic players have been absolutely ripped into by Paul Lambert in a live-air interview on Go Radio last night.

So much of the criticism at Parkhead this season has been aimed in the direction of Neil Lennon. If not him then it’s been Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond who’ve been picked out by supporters. And rightfully so.

However, the attitude of the players must also be put into focus. There’s undeniably an argument to say the likes of Odsonne Edouard, Ryan Christie, and Scott Brown should’ve offered a lot more – just to name a few.

“That’s not Celtic”

And Lambert has recognised that as he chastised the Hoops players last night. Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, Lambo said: “Some of the guys, if they don’t want to be there then they have to go. You have to move them out. I watched the game against Ross County the other week and they never turned up. They never laid a glove on them. That’s not Celtic.

“Some of them looked as if they didn’t want to be there and that was the big thing for me. If that’s the case you have to move them out. I don’t think the players will be given grace this time around, I think they have to get it back. You’re representing a global institution of a football club, it’s not as if it’s just a European club. It’s worldwide.

“And the pressure should be there, it should be there. If you’re at the top and you’re competing with Rangers the pressure should be on your shoulders to win games. I think there’s been an acceptance from some of them, looking at it.It’s dead easy hiding behind Lenny, they’ve got to look at themselves in the mirror and say, ‘we didn’t perform’. It’s dead easy to hide behind a manager when things are not going right and they’ve got to take responsibility themselves.”

Celtic players should’ve done better in key moments; so much of this was avoidable

Football is all about fine margins. For example, if Ryan Christie buries his four-yard sitter in Dingwall, Lennon is still sitting in that Celtic managerial hot-seat right now. And probably reflecting on seven consecutive wins too.

Instead, the former Celtic boss is now out of a job and left looking at what’s next for him. The same goes for if Edouard rattled home his big chance in Dingwall also.

But the game in the Highlands last week wasn’t the only colossal blunder these Celtic players have made. Shane Duffy’s two errors against Rangers, the last-minute collapse against Aberdeen a week later, the pitiful submission to everyone in the Europa League. All of these moments have added up to send Lennon out of the door.

Paul Lambert has ripped into the Celtic players (Photo by Richard Calver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Much of it was down to a lack of organisation or learning from our mistakes. At the end of the day, that’s on Neil. Other moments were down to simple sloppy mistakes. Carelessness on the part of the players involved. We’ve had far too many moments like that.

Whether it be down to attitude, application, or ability, we’ve all been let down by the players. We expected so much more from our top stars in what was a season of all seasons. The chances are we’ll never have the chance to win 10-in-a-row in many of our lifetimes ever again. The magnitude of the achievement was ridiculous.

Lambert is spot on to have a major pop at the players involved. But the man who ultimately formed all this wreckage was Neil Lennon.

In other news, this Celtic-scouted Swiss star could have an opportunity to play himself into the club’s transfer plans once again.