Neil Lennon has increased the pressure on Michael Beale after yet another Celtic derby win.
It proved to be another beautiful Sunday for Celtic in this fixture as a first-half stoppage time strike from Kyogo Furuhashi did the damage in front of a disgruntled Rangers fan base.
“There’s some angry bears,” was the summation from Chris Sutton during his live commentary duties. His former team-mate Lennon seems to feel similarly about the way things are heading for our rivals under Beale.
“Michael has had six — five last year and now this one — and he’s not won any of them,” Lennon said on the PLZ Soccer’s Football Show.
“That’s a big black mark against him. He has to start winning these games. Otherwise the fans aren’t going to believe in him.
“They’ve got to see a progression with the team. They’ve got to see a style of play and I don’t think they’re seeing that at the minute.
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“When you’re coaching one of the big teams in Glasgow, there’s an expectation you’re going to beat Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen. You have to win it with a certain style.
“When you’re playing Rangers [as Celtic], just win it. I doesn’t matter how you win it. By Thursday the performance is forgotten about.”
While Lennon’s claim about Beale never having won a derby as manager isn’t true, the fact he has forgotten the sole victory does kind of reinforce his point.
Beale’s Rangers did beat us 3-0 in the final derby of last season at Ibrox. But that fixture didn’t matter in the slightest with Celtic already crowned as champions. He’s lost four of the other five, drawing the other in Govan.
The fact that all four of those Celtic victories have been by a single goal is a point that should not be lost. Rangers have had spells in all of those wins, with every match being a nail-bitting finish for the Hoops faithful.
But the simple fact is that we have the mentality to win these games while the Ibrox side don’t. That was the case under Ange Postecoglou. It’s already proving to be the same under Brendan Rodgers.
Despite his trademark public bluster, Beale is under immense pressure now. We can keep ramping that up by winning game after game following the international break.
In other news, Gustaf Lagerbielke has been called up for Sweden for competitive matches for the very first time