Today’s press conference involving Celtic manager Neil Lennon has got everyone talking.
The noise comes in many forms.
There are many angry at him, there are supporters of other clubs laughing at him, plenty are discussing what it means for Celtic’s season, some even agree with his comments, while the rest are just perplexed.
I’m frustrated with what he’s had to say but more than anything I am just concerned.
If you haven’t seen the footage of him angrily addressing the media, then you can watch clips on the PLZ Soccer Twitter account.
Tellingly, Celtic have yet to share any of his outbursts on their social media channels and the press conference is still absent from YouTube. That’s unusual for the club.
Lennon is clearly annoyed with what he perceives as unfair treatment, but his demeanour is not of a person dealing with any of this very well.
Given the PR disaster that was the Dubai trip, Celtic were forced into an apology from Chief Executive Peter Lawwell last week.
Today’s press conference should have been about coming clean and moving on, but Lennon had his sights on settling scores based on his media consumption over the past few weeks.
Easy targets such as Andy Walker and Sky Sports have been given both barrels, while the Scottish Government didn’t escape criticism either.
You may find merit in his arguments, but the way they are now being communicated tells me Lennon and Celtic have lost control.
It does neither Lennon nor Celtic any good for this managerial spell to continue.
The club must see what is happening here, agree with the manager that it’s gone wrong and move on. If nothing else it will bring a fresh start, offer renewed hope and take Neil Lennon out of the firing line.
Celtic don’t appear to be in a position to appoint a long-term successor at this stage. However, a caretaker must now be put in place and a proper recruitment process must be initiated.
Anything else is letting the club, the staff, the players and the fans down. This can’t go on.
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