A fresh Neil Lennon backer emerged last night in former Celtic full-back Didier Agathe, who instead pointed the finger at the players.
Some of Lennon’s former team-mates at Parkhead including Chris Sutton and Alan Thompson have openly admitted that they think the time is right for a new manager. This comes after a dismal run of only two wins in 12 games in all competitions.
The Celtic board released a statement last night reaffirming their commitment to the current manager, and stating that he’s the best man for the job at the moment.
And Agathe backed up that view as he stated that Lennon needs to be given until the end of the season.
As quoted by the Scottish Sun, Agathe said: “The time to judge him as a manager is at the end of the season. That’s when you decide whether they stay or go. Everyone at Celtic can sit down and talk about the future at the end of the season. But it’s too late for those discussions now.
“Because of ten in a row it’s about the players and how they turn things around on the pitch. They are the only ones who can do this. It’s easy for the Celtic players to say. ‘We need a new manager, the one we have is no good’.
“But hold on. He’s the one who brought them to Celtic, gave them a big salary and the chance to play for a great club. They need to think about what he’s done for them before now. The players need to play for Lennon right now. That’s it. It’s not about anything else. It’s not about the quality of player.”
Players aren’t blameless; but let’s not forget Lennon’s job title
You can see where Agathe is coming from, and it’s always great to hear the Frenchman’s views on what’s going on at Parkhead.
However, it’s important not to forget that Lennon is in fact the Celtic manager. That’s the title of his gig and it’s one that seems to be forgotten so often by those who back him and want to turn the attention to the players.
So many of these players were signed by Lennon, and it’s his job to ensure they go out onto the pitch in the best frame of mind. If there are issues in that regard and there is indeed a lack of desire about them, it all comes down to the manager.
Leaving things until the end of the season doesn’t make much sense in my view. Agathe knows more about the inner-workings of a dressing room than I’ll ever do, but it just feels as though you’re happy to risk the 10 by doing that. 10-in-a-row is the ultimate goal for this football club and it must be protected at all costs.
It feels as though the club consider Neil Lennon to be bigger than 10-in-a-row. Almost as if giving him some more time is more important than creating Scottish football history this season.
We’ll see in the coming weeks the level of the board’s patience, but from a Celtic fans’ perspective, Lennon has had his opportunities.
In other news, excitement is continuing to build around this exciting Lennoxtown hopeful after a big performance yesterday.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
