Neil Lennon appears to suggest his favoured Celtic midfield

Add as preferred source on Google

After Sunday’s Glasgow derby, interim Celtic boss Neil Lennon appeared to hint at his preferred midfield.

For the first time in three months, Celtic were able to name Scott Brown, Olivier Ntcham, and Callum McGregor in the team. So often, however, we’ve been used to just two sitting midfielders in Celtic’s shape.

All three performed to good effect on Sunday, with Ntcham going off after an hour. It was perhaps his performance that impressed the most given he had been missing since the 1-0 loss to Rangers back in December 2019.

It was only after the Frenchman went off that we started losing some of our control against Rangers. And, interestingly, Lennon confirmed that he wants the trio to always be on the pitch. Speaking after the Rangers match in the Record, Lennon touched on it.

“I think it’s important to get Ntcham and Callum [McGregor], that’s a good triumvirate there with Broony.

“A strong midfield, good balance and it looked that way for as long as Oli was on the pitch really.”

What’s the best way to play with the trio?

So there are obviously a couple of ways Celtic can line-up with all three playing.

On Sunday, it appeared as though McGregor and Brown were happy to sit deeper and allow Ntcham to dictate with his range of passing. At the same time, McGregor still looked for opportunities to go forward.

But we’ve also been used to the idea of two sitting midfielders in behind a number 10. McGregor can influence things in that number 10 position, with Ntcham and Brown sitting back. But the great thing for Lennon is that he can shift both McGregor and Ntcham around the midfield and know they’re suited to whatever it is they’re tasked with.

The only position we know won’t change would be Brown’s. He’s an out-and-out sitter and has been for some time. He dictates the game from deep, and totally bossed Rangers for large spells on Sunday.

But Lennon can use the adaptability of McGregor and Ntcham however he sees fit. Both men consistently want to affect play going forward, and Lennon could give the pair license to do that domestically.

What is clear is that the interim boss clearly prefers our midfield when all three are in there. How would you play with the Brown/McGregor/Ntcham trio? Let us know in the comments below.