Neil Lennon has snapped back at a media question regarding Celtic’s team shape, as he dismissed it as the reason for his side’s capitulation at Aberdeen yesterday.
Celtic had to come from behind on two occasions before finally snatching the lead at Pittodrie with 12 minutes remaining. However, the Hoops’ fragility was on clear show as they conceded a penalty in stoppage time to hand Derek McInnes’ side a point.
In recent weeks, Lennon has tinkered with both a back a three and a back four as he struggles to get his Celtic team into a system that clicks. In yesterday’s stalemate with the Dons, Lennon opted for the latter, yet individual mistakes still cost his team.
And it’s clear that the Hoops boss was in no mood to be questioned on it again yesterday. As quoted by the Scottish Sun, Lennon said the following when asked about his team’s set-up:
“Are we going on about the shape again?
“It doesn’t matter what shape you are in. If you are going to make mistakes, then you are going to get punished. We scored three goals and I’m delighted with the impact the subs made as well.
“You are thinking it will be a great victory under the circumstances. But it wasn’t to be. You are thinking it will be a great victory under the circumstances. But it wasn’t to be. That’s eight goals we’ve conceded this week. It’s not good enough.”
Shape had nothing to do with the result yesterday
When you compare the Aberdeen game yesterday to Milan on Thursday, there are clear distinctions to be made with regard to what caused the goals we conceded.
Against the Rossoneri, it was evident the back three was killing us. Players were being dragged out of position defensively and leaving others exposed – something that was most noticeable for Brahim Diaz’s second.
Meanwhile, yesterday’s 3-3 draw came as a result of some dreadful individual errors from several players. First off you had Olivier Ntcham clumsily bundle Lewis Ferguson over in Aberdeen’s first genuine attack of the game. Shane Duffy then gave the ball away deep in his own half for number two, whilst there were about four or five individual mistakes for the equaliser.
Celtic weren’t caught out because of their shape yesterday. Aberdeen didn’t exploit certain gaps and win some sort of tactical battle on the day. They were the beneficiaries of some early Christmas presents from a backline that appears to have one heck of a Christmas list this year.
It’s no wonder Lennon was annoyed at being asked about the shape. It’s such an easy thing to point to after a disappointing set-back like we received yesterday.
But like it or not, there remains real issues at the club. The only way they’ll go away is if Lennon can start finding his mojo again. Unfortunately, that doesn’t feel like it’s happening anytime soon.
In other news, Willie Miller and Pat Bonner provided a damning verdict on Celtic’s defending yesterday.
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