Neil Lennon explained during his presser why the club couldn’t answer the question many Celtic fans were demanding an answer to.
When news released of Celtic’s second positive-testing player on Monday, there was one question everyone was asking – who? Who was the player that had picked it up?
After Christopher Jullien was announced by the club days after the first positive case post-Dubai, many fans wanted to know the identity of the second. This won’t have come as a surprise to the club however. They received the same demands when the first positive case came through.
However, Lennon explained precisely why the club couldn’t reveal that information. And, as much as Celtic can be blamed for many things, they couldn’t for this.
As quoted by the Glasgow Times, Lennon said: “Just to clarify, we have had one other person who has been deemed positive. We have had two out of the whole 60. I do know who it is but the person would rather remain private for now.”
Lennon knows, but Celtic fans will have to wait
This is fair enough and certainly not something that can even be debated by supporters.
It’s important to remember that, at its core, this is a health matter. It’s not a football issue when it comes to a positive Covid test. Players don’t have to reveal to the world that they’ve been given a positive test.
You can understand their willingness to remain private also. This is a saga that has the Celtic supporters furious. It’s understandable that certain players may want to shield themselves from any criticism.
Celtic fans will find out for definite tonight against Livingston. It’ll likely be easy to spot. If it’s a key player and they aren’t part of the starting XI, fans will put two and two together. Especially if Odsonne Edouard or Olivier Ntcham are missing. Both men weren’t spotted in the club’s training video last night – something that’s unusual for these kind of videos.
But there’s been no confirmation as of yet. No certainty as to who the player is. You could probably argue it’s not right to speculate either, especially if the player wishes it to be private.
Come this evening though, it could be simple to work out. Hopefully, whoever’s sidelined, they get themselves back to full health as quickly as possible.
In other news, a big SFA decision looks set to have an effect on a potential Celtic January signing.
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