Three things we would ask Neil Lennon ahead of Rangers v Celtic

By John Reid

March 13, 2020

All being well, you would expect Celtic boss Neil Lennon to hold a press conference later on Friday to answer an array of questions ahead of Sunday’s trip to Ibrox as the Hoops take on Rangers.

We are currently in a strange footballing situation as the Coronavirus is affecting the game, but for the moment the Glasgow derby is going ahead.

Here are three questions we would ask Neil Lennon at the press conference ahead of the game:

Has the preparation for the game changed?

It would be interesting to find out if Celtic’s preparation for the game has changed or the players and staff are going about their normal business.

Celtic training at Lennoxtown / (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The Hoops boss and players might well be trying to get on with things as normal, but the situation with the Coronavirus is making things different than it usually is.

However, Neil Lennon just has to get on with getting his players prepared for the game, and it will be intriguing to hear if the preparation has changed in any way ahead of the derby.

Would he be in favour of playing behind closed doors?

It seems likely that should the Scottish season continue then there will be games played behind closed doors from next week, as the Scottish government, as reported by the Daily Record, has announced a ban on gatherings of over 500 people.

The safe standing area at Celtic Park (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Is the Hoops boss in favour of that situation? How would that affect the atmosphere at the game? These are the sort of questions it will be interesting to get the Hoops boss’ answers to.

In Lennon’s long footballing career he has never had to deal with a situation like this, and playing behind closed doors is just the latest example of what is a surreal situation.

Does the Hoops boss know his starting line-up for Ibrox?

Getting back to on-field matters, the Hoops boss has some interesting selection decisions to make ahead of the trip to Ibrox.

The Celtic team huddle before kick-off (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

For example, will he stick with the pairing of Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths up-front? Will Ryan Christie return to the starting line-up? What about the fitness of Olivier Ntcham?

Most importantly, does the Hoops boss have a starting line-up in mind for the game? These are all questions that the Hoops boss has to weigh up ahead of the match, and it will be interesting to get his views.

What would you ask Neil Lennon before the game? Are there any questions you can think of? Share your thoughts below with a comment in our new discussion forum…