John Hartson has reaffirmed his support for under-fire Celtic boss Neil Lennon with a strongly worded tweet.
Lennon has been criticised by vast swathes of the Hoops support since Wednesday’s gut-wrenching 2-1 loss to Ferencvaros in Champions League qualifying.
Many supporters feel the Northern Irishman is no longer the man to lead the club, following similar European debacles against Cluj and Copenhagen in the last 12 months.
However, Hoops legend Hartson has since leapt to his former team-mates defence, and we told you of an exchange between him and another former Hoops striker Scott McDonald yesterday.
Now the Welshman has added further fire to the ‘Back Lennon’ brigade – as he emphasised his beliefs on Friday morning, via Twitter.
Hartson tweeted: “I support Neil Lennon 100%”
Hartson’s words may be comforting to Lennon, but the tweet will be controversial to many Hoops fans who have already made their mind up on their manager.
And they let their feelings be known in the replies.
Hartson is entitled to his opinion
Hartson’s backing for Lennon does seem to hinge on the fact the two remain good pals.
That’s not a slight on the Welshman. It’s admirable that he is backing his friend through a tough period, in such a public manner.
But his words are unlikely to sway the Celtic support, many of whom will have made their mind up on Lennon after the Ferencvaros fiasco.
Many of the above replies centre around Hartson’s different approach when Ronny Deila was under fire in the Parkhead hotseat.
As seen in this Scotsman article from 2014, Hartson was far from supportive of the Norwegian when he suffered European disappointment, not too dissimilar from Lennon now.
Fans are right to point that out, just as Hartson is entitled to back his pal.
It’s also no surprise to see many of the above replies referring to Lennon’s post-match comments, rather than the actual game.
There’s an argument that what the gaffer said to press in the bowels of Celtic Park was even more damaging than what we witnessed on the pitch.
It’ll take a lot more than a few Hartson tweets to get the supporters back behind Lennon.
In other news, Neil Lennon has made a bold transfer claim following the Hoops’ Champions League exit
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