Time for Olivier Ntcham to answer for Celtic comments

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It’s time for the Olivier Ntcham comments to come home to roost for the midfielder.

Neil Lennon confirmed last week that the Frenchman was due to return to training today (Daily Record). This came after an extended period off due to the under-21 European Championships that took place last month.

As we all know, Ntcham told L’Equipe how he wanted to move to Marseille in Ligue 1 this summer. He also stated that he was too good for Scottish football, despite flopping for the majority of last season.

Lennon was quick to come back and dismiss the idea that the comments from the Frenchman were misinterpreted (Scottish Sun). He said he would be having words with the midfielder when he returned to training, which is today.

So just what can we expect to happen today? Will Ntcham be hit hard by the club? Will all be explained and everything back to normal?

Don’t expect Celtic to let this get out

Perhaps the most probable aspect of today is that everything is done in-house. Celtic won’t want this kind of story leaking to the press, and so long as Ntcham is reliable on his end, we may never truly find out how the midfielder is punished.

You’ve got to imagine a heavy fine could be coming the midfielder’s way, however. Celtic have been made to look small-time to the foreign press thanks to Ntcham’s comments. That’s not something the club can just accept and allow their own player to get away with doing. It damages our reputation, and thus Ntcham must be punished.

Lennon is bound to get asked this by the media at his press conference ahead of Sarajevo this week. Don’t be surprised if his response is something along the lines of the issue having been dealt with internally.

What seems most likely is that Ntcham receives a fine and is allowed to continue training with the first-team. So long as the midfielder doesn’t seriously throw the dummy out of the pram, he’ll surely be back training with the Bhoys at Lennoxtown.

Ntcham comments will surely lead to a punishment

This is the kind of issue Celtic will want resolved as soon as possible. They don’t like airing dirty laundry in the media. The whole Ntcham saga has been a mess for the club, and therefore a big reported bust-up is hardly likely.

One thing’s for sure, none of us would like to be Ntcham after what he said about the club a couple of weeks ago. Having to answer to what will be an angry and confused Neil Lennon won’t be a pleasurable meeting for him. It would be interesting to hear how he wangles himself out of it, but Lennon likely won’t tell the media. It’s not the kind of thing, as mentioned, that Celtic will want to keep delving into.

So it could be a quiet day on the Ntcham front. Behind the scenes, however, Lennon will surely, at the very least, be fining the Frenchman for his inexplicable comments.