Celtic manager Neil Lennon is again catching flak for one of his media interviews.
This time it’s his post-match comments from last night that are attracting the ire of some supporters.
He told Celtic TV: “We’ve got to take something from the game. We’ve played a quality side and caused them problems but against quality opposition we really need to be getting that third goal. I’m proud of them and the character they showed after Sunday.
“We got off to a great start and we looked really positive. We had good fluency about us as well, and I thought we were excellent at times.”
A quick look at the replies to that on Twitter shows the usual mix of anger, astonishment and pleas for action from the Celtic board.
I’m actually going to give Lennon a bit of leeway here.
It’s one thing defending a 2-0 defeat to Ross County at Celtic Park, which I did take issue with this week. It’s another entirely when commenting on last night.
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The truth is there were some positives to take from the 4-2 defeat.
The way we rushed to a 2-0 lead with energy, passion and a degree of skill deserves credit.
Celtic attempted to go toe-to-toe with the Serie A league leaders and I reckon some of the players proved a point in that opening period; they do want to impress and show a bit of fight.
Whether we like it or not, and I don’t believe me, the manager has been given the backing of the Celtic board for the foreseeable future.
It’s his job to take the constructive parts of a performance and build on them. It’s not his job to satiate the support by going through the players who have failed.
He was never going to come out last night and slam his already under fire stars.
It goes without saying our defensive collapse wasn’t good enough, something the manager would be quick to acknowledge himself, especially in private most likely.
It all means nothing without Sunday Celtic progress
That the Bhoys boss would take positives last night is expected then. He’s entitled to that.
What I would make clear however is that it’ll all mean nothing without some sort of progression on Sunday at home to St Johnstone.
My biggest problem with Celtic this season has been a complete lack of consistency. We never know whether the positive signs from one performance will run into the next. They usually don’t.
Anything less than a win against the Perth side will surely ignite renewed and more vigorous calls for Lennon to leave the club immediately.
None of his positive media comments will mean much then.
There’s only so long you can put on a brave face in opposition to the cold hard facts of this brutal Celtic run.
It’s time to show bravery on the pitch, rather than off it.