Neil Lennon

SEETHING Neil Lennon hit out at Nicola Sturgeon during an astonishing rant defending Celtic’s Dubai trip debacle.

The Hoops boss slammed the First Minister for calling the sunshine training camp “R&R”.

And he blasted critics’ “hypocrisy” on Covid protocols with a nod to Scotland’s Euro 2020 heroes partying to Baccara hit Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, and MP Margaret Ferrier allegedly taking a return train trip from Scotland to London while infected.

The tirade came as he revealed a second Hoops player had tested positive for coronavirus.

Lennon said: “I’m not going to get into a fight with the First Minister.

“But I will take umbrage on her use of the term ‘R&R’, which she selectively picked out of interviews — completely ignoring the hard work we were intending to do and the intensive training.


And the innuendo that we abused our so-called privileges when we were there. That couldn’t be further from the truth.



“It’s not as if we were doing a conga at three o’clock in the morning in a dining room, or dancing to Baccara in a dressing room, or traipsing up and down the country with Covid in a train.

“My players’ behaviour was exemplary. The way this has been portrayed has been a total distortion of the facts.


Yet we come back to this barrage of absolute hypocrisy.”

Lennon let rip at his first press conference since being forced into self-isolation along with No2 John Kennedy and 13 Hoops stars following defender Christopher Jullien’s positive test.


The under-fire boss defended snaps showing him and skipper Scott Brown on poolside loungers next to pints of beer.

Another pictured Hoops stars gathered round a table with empty glasses nearby.



Lennon claimed his players have been treated like “common criminals”, adding: “All the people in the photographs are negative. We may not be exactly two metres apart, but we are in our bubble.”

We told how Ms Sturgeon was “frustrated” by the getaway,saying: “The club described the trip as R&R.”

Celtic chief exec Peter Lawwell apologised last week

 

Know what you mean mate, it's hard to get away from the feeling of anger at lenny and the board about the whole calamitous * show, but seeing * on here and twitter joining in the lynching of the club and manager, seamlessly merging in with huns and masons and bigots has got my back right up.

Lennon has lost the plot and should have been gone months ago, but he's fighting for OUR club more than anyone in here is so he's got my respect for that at least.

 

No, he was correct to point out the inconsistencies. Been that was since the start of this, from the UK government and the Scottish government. Handled it terribly from the off.

I wouldn't vote for them now, if I did in the first place.

 

The fact Lennon is here till May is absolutely frightening.

Our Board are a complete and utter shambles and so out of touch with the fans. I feel like we are turning into Newcastle.

 

Pantywetters

His employers publicly stated there would be a formal review of his position this month

 

It’s on Twitter


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Who's Twitter account Sturgeons?

 

About as sensible a take on yesterdays * show as you'll find.

Sure there may be some truth to what Lennon picks up on, regarding change in how track and trace was used during that time period, very suspect if so and if we are victims to that then the club would do well to actually challenge it legally, at a sporting level and to lay it out quite clearly and orderly - not in a raging Neil Lennon interview that takes a scatter gun approach to defending his own position.

Because let's be honest, that's what it was yesterday. Lennon and the board have found some weak line of thinking to try and turn the narrative (remember they are good at doing this all season) and are clinging on for dear life hoping the, as always, fickle mindset of a football supporter kicks in and we all turn our anger to someone else and give these incompetent (being nice) * a bit of breathing space again.

Bottom line, there are two men responsible for that Dubai trip and no matter how you paint it, before we even tool off on the plane it was a pr disaster.
2metre, 4metres, 1 case, 30 cases, doesn't matter the trip never should have happened and it was handled completely unprofessionally and has resulted in a positive test that did not need to be.

After that you can * all you want about guidelines being changed, but we went on this trip.

"They let us" isn't a * excuse. Have some self respect and responsibility for * sake.

Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk

 

It was a pr disaster before the media ran with the story.
This has nothing to do with the media and everything to do with basic public relations. Not media relations.

We don't need the daily record to tell us that flying to Dubai during a global pandemic is a bit of * idea.

Sent from my MAR-LX1A using Tapatalk

 

The 2 aren't mutually exclusive.

The trip to Dubai can be unwise/unethical/immoral but that doesn't mean Sturgeon, Swinney or any other SG politicans should be commenting on it, if no laws were contravened.

Just because many Celtic fans are SNP voters (I myself am one) doesn't mean we need to bend over and take it, when politicans try to score cheap political points at our expense.

If Sturgeon and Swinney were so horrified at our trip then they should have been contacting the Government office or individual that granted us approval.

The fact that the 2 above chose not to use their public platforms to be scathing when other situations have arisen which have contravened laws, shows we're being singled out eg. Scottish Rugby players attending a house party, contracting the virus and then playing in games or the Huns birthday party, where several attended and broke the law.

 

Correct.

Whether or not folk or any officials felt our trip was in some way “immoral” then that’s their issue.

The fact is the trip was sanctioned and was allowed. No wrong doing.

Perhaps those in power having a pop ahould look at their own system and ministers who allowed travel to and from Dubai, and why borders were/are allowed open during a pandemic.

I’m working not too far from Glasgow airport and their are at least 6 flights I see taking off of all different sizes, including almost daily an Emirates plane most likely heading for Dubai. Still...

 

Its his win record with the players he has at his disposal.

6 wins in 21, come on ffs..

With each day the rebuild becomes more difficult.

 

If you feel wronged do you just accept it and move along as though nothing happened, if everyone believes that then they are hypocrites and it contradicts everything they have said about the res .

 

I think he's right o criticise the government that sanctioned the trip and then tried to score points off the back of it. The same government that's flooded care homes with sick people and the same government that didn't bat an eyelid when Scotland were partying it up after qualifying.

They are very hypocritical.

 

I'd like to see this quote as well.

 

Not to mention that it’s beyond the realms of possibility that we should have some infected and isolating huns. But noooo... they’ve been fine. Bussing around, flying around - someone must have picked it up, someone must have spread it, they should have been weakened but ... no. They ‘march’ (stumble) on.

 

What exactly did sturgeon say that seems to have * off so many fans?

The quotes I’m seeing are mild as *, and correctly point out that we shouldn’t be going away for R&R, a term Lennon himself used I’m sure.

 

It may sound like I'm backing him to the hilt here regardless but im trying to point to wot I see has gone wrong this year , it can't be taken lightly that our main players are leaving and will play at 50% avoiding injury ,our fans are a big part of wot drives us on , add to that the fact everyone wants to see a change and new winners in spl after 4 domestic clean sweeps and a natural dilution of hunger then there is genuine reason for things not going to plan , maybe if nl had the full control needed then things may have been better or worse who knows , but I do know he can motivate teams who are able to rise to that .

 

Except he has taken responsibility, he said he is the one who should apologize instead of pl , for the trip .
There is a bloodlust for his job and the thing I detest most is wen things gather a bit of momentum on sm it dies become a pitchforks and shovels mentality akin to bullying , I've seen this many times in the media and it makes me sick that * like this is ok to do .