Neil Lennon has claimed his Celtic team are in fine condition despite recent negativity.
The Northern Irishman and his players have come in for vast criticism from all quarters following the Champions League defeat to Cluj and the subsequent slog against Dunfermline Athletic on Saturday.
Lennon has won seven of his nine matches since being appointed permanent boss in May and he feels the criticism is a little over the top.
“We’ve lost one game and we scored three goals in it,” he told the BBC.
“There has to be a sense of perspective. I can’t control that. There’s a little bit of hysteria around things at times.
“There’s a narrative going round that we are maybe a bit off colour. We’re absolutely not. We’re fine. Hopefully, the players can go out and show that.
“People are entitled to criticise me, criticise the players, but there has to be a sense of balance.”
Has the criticism of Lennon and Celtic been over the top?
The vitriol around the appointment of Lennon always meant that the first setback was going to create an unfathomable wall of negativity. That has been the case since last Tuesday when the Hoops exited to Cluj.
Things aren’t at crisis level domestically yet. The club are top of the league after two wins from two and into the last eight of the Betfred Cup with a very winnable game against Partick Thistle to come.
However, it is the state of the current squad and what’s to come that worries fans most. Our next four games are massive encounters and, truth be told, most are expecting the worst.
If the vitriol right now is bad, it will increase ten fold should we exit the Europa League and/or lose at Ibrox. The Celtic board would still be unlikely to part company with Lennon at that stage. But the Northern Irishman would find it very hard to get the fanbase and players back on his side.
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