Neil Lennon

Sign him on the morning of the game no problem

 

This tells me Soro is starting

This doesn't sound good at all, the English market is over inflated whilst the rest of the markets in the UK are limited for talent, what a * up Brexit could have on our signing policy & squad of players in the near future

 

The policy is being agreed by the government based on the FAs beliefs which is total bollocks. Scottish MPs and Scottish government need to step up right now.

 

Neil Lennon reckons his quadruple Treble chasers are hunting a once in a lifetime opportunity.

But the Celtic boss is refusing to even contemplate the prospect of his setting own magic milestone of being the first man in Scottish football history to win a Treble as a player AND a manager 20 years on from first joining the club.


Lennon leads his side into Sunday’s William Hill Scottish Cup Final against Hearts with his squad within reach of a 12th successive domestic trophy and fourth consecutive clean sweep.

Victory would cap a monumental achievement for the club and the gaffer reckons that, if his team can do the business at Hampden, it’s not something which may ever happen again.

Lennon's team selection has been up for hot debate and the manager hinted there's one position still to be finalised.

He said: “People will have their own sort of opinions on it. I just think you’ll never see it again, although I suppose you could say that about 10 In A Row as well.




They are on a good run which means they will come into the game confident off the back of a great win in the semi-final.

“So we’re not taking it for granted that we’re going to win.

“Winning games is hard and winning trophies is a very difficult thing to do and the players here have done it very, very well over the piece. We’re just looking for another big performance.

“It’s important to the people at the club, to the players, to the staff at Lennoxtown and at the stadium and I’m pretty sure and confident that it was always important to the majority of Celtic supporters.

“The Scottish Cup is a very prestigious trophy and we want to add another one to our list, but it won’t be easy.

“It’s really strange having a Scottish Cup Final at this stage of the season, but our preparations are pretty similar as if it was a League Cup Final, which the players have been tuned into for the last three or four years.”

Lennon wants it for his club and isn’t prepared to think beyond the 90 minutes to a potentially historic personal achievement.

He added: “It would be hard for me to put into words, really. Ask me on Sunday if I’ve achieved it.


I don’t want to get too ahead of myself. We have to win a cup final.

“I don’t know if you are judged on Trebles, I mean, Gordon Strachan, he didn’t win a treble and he’s remembered fondly for the Champions League and winning titles.

“But if you are, then so be it. And hopefully I can put one to my CV.

“It would mean a helluva lot, but, again, it’s not about me. I’m only as good as my players and they have been amazing.

“We have to be wary of making sure that we are at our best. If we’re not right then anything can happen.

“If we prevail, then I’ll let you know how I feel after that.”

Lennon joined Celtic as a player in December 2000 and admits: “It’s been a fantastic 20 years. A blessing and a real privilege.

“You couldn’t have envisaged how it would pan out. It’s been incredible. I don’t take it lightly. We work tirelessly to maintain the successful standards the club has set.

“It’s unbelievable and I don’t want it to end. I want it to keep going. We are very driven and galvanised.”


Lennon knows Hearts are also desperate to triumph and Rangers’ shock League Cup loss to St Mirren in midweek proves the tag of being favourites in any cup-tie can count for nothing.

The Celtic boss said: “That’s what makes this run that we’ve been on through the last three or four years absolutely remarkable. We’re now in another final and we’re *-bent on winning it.”

Lennon, meanwhile, admits he’s still deliberating over his final XI with a recall for skipper Scott Brown amongst his big decisions.

He said: “We’re more or less set on the team. We might have to make a decision on one position, but there will be no sentimentality or anything like that. We’re going to pick a team to win the game.”

 

dont believe this will happen its scary talk to frighten the EU the english premiership will not allow the government to get in the way of them signing whoever they want from wherever they want

 

Well it just goes to show how poor Lennons team selection and how pish we were against Ross County that after todays defeat from Hamiliton County sack their Manager !!! 3 weeks after beating us in the League Cup !!

 

Looking at the league table is infuriating and grim reading. 16pts behind and 22 goals worse off. We're * if he thinks he can lead us out of this.

But looking to tomorrow. All eyes on him again until 1pm. No room for Brown or Christie as a second striker. Pick the players fit and on form and go for the diet scum from the first whistle.

Do that, and he wins his final trophy as Celtic manager.

 

I was watching old videos on YouTube and watched us pump the scum 5-0 (could have been more) to win the league just before we did the double treble. Of the team that started that day, we still have 7 of them. Yet the regression is staggering... It's criminal how we've allowed them to catch up.

 

NEIL LENNON is no stranger to a Scottish Cup Final with Celtic. Since making his final bow in the competition as a player back in 2001 in the win over Hibernian, he has lifted the famous old trophy above his head on a further four occasions.

The most recent of which was in May 2019, when he guided Celtic to a win over today’s opponents Hearts from the dugout, a win that ultimately secured a second stint as permanent manager of the club.

There will be so much that will be different to that day almost 20 years ago when Lennon first tasted victory in this competition when he walks out at the national stadium this afternoon, not least of all the absence of 50,000-odd supporters, but the churning in Lennon’s stomach will be one constant that remains.


Will his overriding emotion be excitement or anxiety? Trepidation, or anticipation?

“All of the above!” Lennon said. “It never changes.

“It’s the Scottish Cup. It’s been a really good competition for me, it means a lot to me. It was my first one as a manager.


“I remember waking up the day we played Hibs [as a player] and my stomach was churning that morning. We put in a great performance and won that one 3-0.

“You react in different ways. Even the last one, there was so much riding on it and I was absolutely thrilled that we overcame that one.

“This one will be no different in terms of how you’re feeling and all the plays that go through your mind, all the actions.

“You know you can’t control it, so what you do is try to take your mind off things. All the preparation work is done.

“You just have to try and be as relaxed as you possibly can.”

That has been made easier, Lennon admits, by the current restrictions that are in place on our daily lives, as much as he would love to have the Celtic support in his corner at Hampden today.

“It’s certainly different, all the furore and meeting people in the street, it’s a lot calmer,” he said.

“There’s definitely been a sign of anticipation in the training and the body language this week. [The players] seem to be a lot more engaged and a lot more together, which is great.”


Without that day-to-day interaction with the punters though, the empty stadium and the strange prospect of playing last season’s final just day before Christmas, is there a danger that the importance of the occasion may be lost on some of the Celtic players? Lennon doesn’t believe so.

“I don’t think I need to [explain that to them], because I think the players are completely aware of what the gravity of the game is,” he said.

“A lot of them have won three Trebles and they don’t take it for granted. We know how difficult it is to win a trophy.

“They’ve done brilliantly and that’s why it has been so remarkable. I think because they’ve done it that many times, people just take it for granted.


“Now we’re out of the League Cup, there’s that feeling of wanting it even more.

“We’ll go into the game with a real positive mindset and that will to win.”

That blow of exiting this season’s Betfred Cup to Ross County, a defeat that also brought to an end Celtic’s 35-match winning streak in domestic cup competitions, is still raw for Lennon. It may well even have ended his second reign as manager.

As it is, it gives the final this afternoon a feeling of the curtain coming down on the end of an era of domestic dominance, but Lennon is determined that a win this afternoon will not only serve to bookmark the past, but act as the catalyst for a new era of Celtic supremacy.

“There’s still a lot to play for,” he said. “There’s the chance to win 10 in-a-row, there’s the chance to win another cup at the end of this season.

“So, there’s still a * of a lot to play for. It’s not as if we don’t win on Sunday then the world stops, you go again on Wednesday against Ross County. We just keep that focus.

“If we win we’ll enjoy that moment, and you can look back on it at the end of the season with a lot of pride and admiration.

"It's not about me. It's about the club and the team. If we can complete a quadruple Treble it probably wouldn't ever be seen again.

"To be a part of that would be fantastic. But ask me about that if we prevail.

"My whole motivation is on the team, getting the right balance and performance - and getting the trophy.”

 

Spineless

 

Can’t believe this tbh. Risking a cup just to give a player not in form a game over someone who was in form and looking to get better and help us in the title fight. Now Soro has been dropped you wouldn’t be surprised if it knocks the confidence right out of him. Feel so small time to give players a game based on last seasons performances, this isn’t a player who has never been involved in a final or that either, he’s had plenty and won plenty.

I’m sure we will have enough to get past Hearts today but there’s no to add more risk to this game.

 

Aww * it. It is what it is. I just hope this doesn't come back to haunt him. C'mon the Hoops

 

Hopefully the board have Lennys replacement in sight and are ready to make the changes in the next 2 weeks so we get back to the Celtic we know and love .

 

Shhhhhhhhhh.

 

We're winning because we have better players, not because of Lennon.

 

Need to get soro on and regain control team starting to look shaky

 

We look so * poorly coached its honestly embarrassing, any half decent coach, analyst, Scout whoever would have a field day breaking down our * weaknesses and to be frank its all this fellas fault, we are a * shambles from set plays as well and we'v done * all to fix it.

Lets win this game and thank Neil for his service because we are a * shambles

 

He better get to * after this win or lose

 

Under this absolutely *, we are finished!!!!