Neil Lennon tries to explain Celtic defensive calamities ahead of Ross County

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Celtic manager Neil Lennon spoke today on a range of issues. But it was his comments on defending that were most interesting.

Lenny seemed in more honest mood, correctly diagnosing Celtic’s defensive woes and inconsistent form over the last few months. Sunday, for example, showed the best and worst of his team over 120 minutes.

Speaking to assorted journalists via Celtic’s official YouTube channel, Lennon was frank in his admissions about the team’s defensive ability. However, he seemed to convey that there was no quick fix for the Bhoys’ back-line woes.

Lennon said:

“Basically since the first international break, we haven’t really had consistency in keeping clean sheets. We haven’t had the personnel consistently available to play them. So yeah, it can be down to individual errors, and it can also be collective.

“We can’t just point the finger at one aspect, at one individual. We have to be better collectively, particularly at set plays. Far too many goals for our liking conceded, when we have plenty of height, plenty of physicality to deal with that.”

Celtic and the unsettled back-line

When asked if Lennon had a settled, first-choice defence, the Celtic manager said:

“No, not really, no. I don’t think you can on a run like this. It’s impossible to churn out the same players. We have to keep players fresh and it’s just a huge volume of games this month.

“I don’t think there’s been any sort of different psychology this season, in terms of banging the drum and winning the title. I’m hoping that anxiety and burden has gone now for them… we can play a bit freer, with less pressure.

“We can’t give too much away any more.”

On Hartson and the title

Making his own notes on Celtic’s defence today was former striker John Hartson (Daily Record). Stopping short of criticising his former team-mate, Big Bad John said that Celtic need a “small miracle” to turn around the deficit at the top of the league.

Hartson pointed to Celtic’s flaws out of possession, and said he couldn’t see Lennon’s side keeping clean sheets. In response, Lennon said:

“I’ve seen comebacks before. People have their own opinions, it’s not insurmountable whatsoever. But the way we’re playing, we need to be more consistent. We had a really good first half on Sunday and then came right off the second for some reason. We need to put the two halves together a lot more.”