Celtic manager Neil Lennon has re-iterated his support for attacker Mohamed Elyounoussi despite the media furore surrounding the player over the last few days, speaking to Sky Sports.
Elyounoussi was spotted quickly checking his phone for a score update on the Europa League match between opponents Lille and Milan, attracting strong condemnation from voices such as Chris Sutton, Paul Lambert and Kris Boyd.
Boyd went so far to say it was the only thing that the Norwegian international would be remembered for during his time at Celtic.
A laughable analysis.
Lennon told Sky Sports after Moi’s superb hat-trick against Motherwell: “He comes in from criticism from outside, not from us. I had a brief chat with him. He explained to me what had happened and that was the end of it.
“You are all analysing everything we are doing at the minute. Elyounoussi on his phone and the body language and this, that and the other.
“We said to him at half-time, ‘you had two at Lille last week and you didn’t get your hat-trick, go and get it today.’
“It was a brilliant third goal. He can be absolutely delighted. He’s in great form but he needs to be more consistent with his level of performances now because he’s a quality player.”
That extra motivation for Elyounoussi to score his third goal of the afternoon proved crucial.
The Steelmen had just back into the match with a goal of their own and were in the ascendancy when the attacker headed home to claim the match ball.
Yesterday’s result and performance don’t absolve the sins and issues with Celtic this season, but it could be the start of a consistent run.
The match was certainly a welcome response to last Thursday’s horror show.
At the very least, the game showed that this dressing room are still fighting for the manager and responding to his words.
In other news, a former English Premier League referee has called out Andrew Dallas’ Celtic shocker.
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