Now is not the time for Celtic supporters to turn on each other; Sutton should quieten down

By John McGinley

November 29, 2020

It’s fair to say today’s result has caused a bit of a stir.

The defeat to Ross County at Celtic Park has angered fans to the extent that many turned up to the stadium protesting in favour of Neil Lennon’s departure as manager.

That, coupled with a social media storm of alternative opinions, has seen fans bicker with each other all afternoon and all evening across the internet.

Former striker Chris Sutton weighed in with a typically fiery view of his own, declaring the people protesting outside Paradise as not real fans.

He said, on Twitter: “The people protesting outside Celtic Park can’t call themselves Celtic fans. True Celtic fans wouldn’t be singing despicable songs about a man who has given the club the service Neil Lennon has. They are a disgrace.”

Obviously, I cannot and would not condone anyone who took things too far tonight, but labelling everyone in attendance at the stadium as a disgrace and using inflammatory language is just making the situation worse.

Sutton is again attacking the very people who have given a lot to him over the years.

This is absolutely not the time for supporters to be turning on each other when there is a hugely important period for the club on the horizon.

Lennon looks to be on his way out the door. It’d take a miracle or a completely irresponsible board for him to keep his job at this stage.

If he does indeed exit then supporters have to come together and provide backing to whoever is next, whether in a caretaker capacity or on a full-time basis.

Fans also can’t take their eyes off of the culprits of the mess, principally the board who have allowed standards to decline at Celtic Park and Lennoxtown.

The same decision-makers who should have had more of a vision than to employ the current manager permanently in the first place.

Celtic Park / (Photo by Alan Harvey/SNS Group via Getty Images)

As ever, it was the Celtic support ahead of the curve here. It will be us, collectively, who help shape the future of the football club.

Either Celtic show ambition and new ways of thinking, embracing the change that fans want to see, or financial consequences will occur when season ticket renewals come around.

Without Lennon to shield them from criticism, they could find it’s their names chanted outside the stadium on a regular basis.