Frustrated Celtic boss Neil Lennon calls out Scottish FA 'shambles' live on radio

By John McGinley

November 21, 2020

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has hit out at the Scottish FA after one of his players tested positive for COVID-19 following his return from international duty, speaking live on BBC Radio Scotland this afternoon (14:27).

As we discussed earlier, David Turnbull is now self-isolating for ten days following his diagnosis.

The situation is made all the more concerning given he was spotted training with his teammates at Lennoxtown on Friday.

The Bhoys boss was clearly frustrated in his pre-match interview at Easter Road today, believing that questions must be asked of the SFA’s processes and protocol.

Speaking to BBC Scotland (14:27), Lennon said: “It’s again one of our players going on international duty and picking up something – it’s bitterly disappointing from our point of view.

“We were made aware of it yesterday and obviously David is self-isolating now. We hope that he’s going to be okay and he gets through it quickly.

“We had the whole Ryan Christie issue last time and now we’ve got an issue with another one of our players. It’s not good enough, it’s a shambles.

“We work very, very hard to keep our Celtic bubble secure. It’s all been outwith the bubble.”

Celtic clearly aren’t happy and hopefully, we hear more from the club in the coming hours and days on the issue.

Aberdeen and Motherwell have already released statements and the Scottish champions must seek clarity on what’s gone wrong within the Scotland U21 camp.

Celtic midfielder David Turnbull / (Photo by Mark Runnacles/Getty Images)

Given the number of cases and players self-isolating from that group, reported by BBC Scotland to be a significant number, we need some answers.

If those aren’t sufficient, the club should think very closely about releasing players in the spring for fixtures.

In other news, Celtic prospect Kerr McInroy is shining out on loan at Dunfermline Athletic.