Chris Sutton wants Celtic to deal with discipline issue at club

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has commented that the Hoops have to deal with a discipline issue at the club, whilst appearing on BT Sport.

Sutton, who is never shy about being outspoken, feels that recent incidents involving Boli Bolingoli – who went to Spain and as a result Celtic had two games postponed – and Leigh Griffiths – who was warned by the club for breaching social distancing rules – show that all is not well at the club.

“Look at what’s happened”

“You can look at a lack of discipline at the club, look at what’s happened with Leigh Griffiths, look at the situation with Bolingoli and I think that Celtic and Neil Lennon really need to get a grip on this” Sutton said, whilst appearing on BT Sport’s Scottish Football Extra (28/8/20, 18:40).

Celtic defender Boli Bolingoli let his side down / (Photo by Michael Campanella/Getty Images)

It might be going a bit too far to claim that there is a discipline issue at Celtic. However, the Bolingoli situation in particular was a very bad look for the club. Celtic will be playing catch-up in the league for a while as a result.

The real issue of course is that these incidents took place during what is not a normal time in Scottish football, or indeed in the world.

Incidents not acceptable in current climate

We are still in the middle of a pandemic. Celtic players going to parties or taking trips to Spain is just not acceptable in the current climate.

The focus at Celtic must always be on the field issues. Sutton is perhaps concerned that events off the pitch could lead to poor results on the pitch.

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Celtic forward Leigh Griffiths after scoring / (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

However, it is unlikely that the Bolingoli and Griffiths incidents had anything to do with Celtic’s midweek loss to Ferencvaros.

Sutton is correct about Celtic nipping the issue in the bud though. Perhaps that will happen during the international break. Neil Lennon and Celtic will have two weeks to deal with any issues at the club.

Hopefully the Hoops will come out raring to go, and ready to go on a winning run with no distractions.