Neil Lennon appears to be getting fed up of that accusation that he’s changing Celtic’s style.
The Hoops have become a lot more direct than they were under Brendan Rodgers. And whilst some may have been happy with that when Lennon first came in the door, his team just aren’t good at it either.
Against Kilmarnock, Celtic launched in a plethora of crosses that went over everyone or missed their target. The only goal of the game yesterday was scored by a Jozo Simunovic header. So it did work to perfection on that occasion.
But Lennon continues to dismiss claims he’s changed much about this Celtic team at all. Speaking in the Daily Record post-Kilmarnock, Lennon had this to say on his style.
“I like us to get on the front foot and take the game to them as much as we can. We asked for a lot more urgency and focus in the second half.
“I haven’t changed the style, everyone’s saying that. I’ve tried to tweak a few things but I don’t want to change the style because that’s what the players are used to. Why change it when you’ve won seven out of seven trophies and are on the cusp of winning the title?
“It would be folly of me to go ‘right, we’re ripping this up and doing it the way I want them to play’. We’re playing the way they’re used to playing under Brendan (Rodgers) and seeing it through. The tactics are the same and the personnel are more or less the same. I think people over-analyse what we do here.”
Small changes having a big difference
Lennon may feel that he hasn’t changed much, and maybe he hasn’t. But whatever tweaks he has made since coming in the door, they’ve had a huge effect on our play.
Celtic aren’t as fluent in the final third as they were under Brendan Rodgers. Some may say that performances under Rodgers had been poor for large spells as well. That’s true. But it wasn’t on a weekly basis, and the displays under Lennon have been even worse than that if we’re all being honest with ourselves.
One of the most frustrating things about Lennon’s side is how much they don’t even seem to want to get in behind opposition defences too. Whenever the likes of Scott Sinclair, James Forrest, or Jonny Hayes gets into a good area, too often do they wait for the defender to get back into position before making their next move.
The constant crosses into the penalty area to a man who doesn’t thrive on them also need to be changed. Just because Odsonne Edouard has a tall physique doesn’t mean he’s the best target man for cross balls.
Perhaps the scale of Lennon’s changes has been small in his mind. But the tweaks to our play are having a huge effect, and not for the better. We got away with it yesterday, but next Saturday at Pittodrie we may not be so fortunate.
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