Neil Lennon

Dougie MacDonald would agree with many of those moaning about Lenny.

 

NL: Tomorrow will be great for some of the players not involved last week to get some game time.”

NL on
@Chri6ViF
: “He’s likely to feature tomorrow. If he comes through it okay, then he’ll be in contention for Wednesday.”

NL on
@lucaconnell
: “He’s come in and been fantastic. We think he’s a talented player and hopefully he’ll continue to develop and flourish at #CelticFC.”

NL on #UCL: “Judging by Sarajevo, the quality in the early rounds is certainly high. We know it’s always a priority so we’ll prepare accordingly.”

NL on injuries: “
@MBolingoli
should be okay for Wednesday but
@mikeyjohnston10
will just miss out.”

 

Confirmed, he wants 2 RB's in during the presser..

 

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has said he needs to "trim" his squad and sell some players ahead of the upcoming season.

Eight players have already left the club this window, including Mikael Lustig and Dedryck Boyata.


But, despite these departures, Lennon believes that some more business still needs to be done.

He said: "I think there's some trimming to do, yes.

"We have to be mindful with the amount of games we play, so the squad has to be of a decent size.


We don't want to have players on the periphery of the squad on a decent wage being left out.

"The squad is too big for my liking and I think it's important that we [trim] it."

Boyata and Lustig both left the club for nothing, heading to Hertha Berlin and KAA Gent, respectively.

Marvin Compper, Scott Allan, Youssouf Mulumbu and Emilio Izaguirre have all also left the club for free.

Along with the departures, the Bhoys have strengthened their squad, with the signings of Luca Connell, Boli Bolingoli and Christopher Jullien

And, with some more players leaving the club, Lennon is hopeful for more additions at Celtic Park.

In the next few weeks, everything will be hotting up everywhere, in terms of transfer fees being paid and deals being done," Lennon said

 

I was thinking about how good our response to going behind was the other night and about posters who judge the current managerial appointment on mistakes he made as a rookie in Europe and it occurred to me that this could actually also be projected into the future. Quite apart from the tired old argument about how good he is now, it's interesting to think how good he can become. He's still a relatively young man and far too often we talk about his coaching like a static thing.

Statistically it is unlikely he will ever catch Klopp or Guardiola, because only one or two per generation ever do reach that standard; but we shouldn't be in a hurry to put a ceiling on him. He's smart, insanely hardworking, driven to constantly improve and humble enough to learn from others who have been doing some things better than he was.

He's back in an environment that supports excellence and constant improvement now. Who knows how good he can become over the next few years?

 

I hope he gets them, the thing is every * knows we are desperate for at least one and are going to hang right out us.

 

Heh it was a bit tongue in cheek, if you seen some of the stuff I post..

 

Like how he debunked the myth we can't compete with championship clubs on signings and wages.... A myth I might add was started by his snaky lying piece of * predecessor who made up that bullshit for his shortcomings in Europe

Sent from my AUM-L29 using Tapatalk

 

Are you referring to something that he said, or have we beaten a Championship club to a signing this summer?

 

In the media conference at about 4.30 mins he states we can compete with Championship clubs on transfer fees and wages.

 

Ah, right.

 

SIR DAVID MURRAY once boasted that Rangers would spend a tenner for every fiver Celtic forked out.

But Hoops boss Neil Lennon has no interest in a modern-day Old Firm arms race.

Steven Gerrard will make £3.5million Swedish defender Filip Helander his eighth summer signing.

Yet Lenny claims he couldn’t care less how many players Rangers bring in and how much they spend.

The Celtic boss is only focused on strengthening his own squad and isn’t interested in events at Ibrox.

Asked if an arms race was brewing, he said: “No, not at all. I can’t affect what Rangers do.

“It’s not one of those situations where if they spend £4m then we want to spend £8m.

“It’s not like that. We just want to get the right players in if the price is good and we think there’s quality and re-sellable value in them as well.

We have to focus on ourselves. You can’t affect what’s going on elsewhere. You can’t do that — and we won’t.

“Are we chasing the same players at times? We might be but that creates its own issues.

“Sometimes agents play one against another and I don’t want to get involved in any of that nonsense.

Rangers have signed more players than Celtic since the end of last season and don’t look to be finished.





But Lennon’s three new recruits — Christopher Jullien, Boli Bolingoli and Luca Connell — have cost the Hoops in excess of £10m.

The Celtic manager insists the club will continue to splash the cash between now and the end of the transfer window.

Two right-backs, a midfielder, forward and centre-half would all be welcome by the end of August.

Others will also head out, with interest in Kieran Tierney, Olivier Ntcham and Tom Rogic.

It’s tiring work for the Celtic boss who revealed a lengthy recruitment meeting on Wednesday left him frazzled.

Lenny said: “There’s a lot of work being done in the background.

“We had a four-hour meeting on Wednesday on TWO positions.

“It’s quite energy- sapping sometimes.

“There’s a position that we’d like to bring two in for.

Maybe a younger one to develop and one that is ready to hit the ground running, a loan or permanent.

“But we want to get it right. Not just for the sake of the short term.

“Sometimes you have to be patient.

“It’s just a question of whittling the information down — is this the right price, the right age, the right wage?

“We have to filter that all down and we have been agonising over a lot of players over the last two or three weeks.

“There’s nothing on the horizon just yet. Hopefully we will get one before the Champions League second round, if we get there.

“We’ve got four or five days before the next Uefa deadline and you can do a deal in three or four hours.

“We’ll also trim the squad here and there as we go along. But there is nothing concrete at the minute.


“It will depend if we have any bids for our players.

“Then we have to take a view on it if it is the right thing for the club to do.

“We have to have options if that eventuality comes along.”

Summer signings Jullien and Connell will make their Celtic debuts against Rennes — but Bolingoli won’t be risked due to an ankle knock.

Tom Rogic and Vakoun Bayo also remain out but Lennon will give the bulk of his squad some game time.


He said: “Jullien will start against Rennes, as will Connell.

“The other players who didn’t start against Sarajevo — the likes of Leigh Griffiths and Lewis Morgan — will also feature.

“Beyond that, we will just rotate the squad going forward.

“Jullien has looked fine in training — he just needs a bit of fitness work.

“The game will help with that but he’s looking up to speed now.

“There is a balance between getting players ready and working them too hard as well.

“But the fitness boys know what they are doing.


They have had a lot of experience with matches at this time of the year.

“It’s about getting the balance, so the boys who played 90 minutes on a heavy pitch in Sarajevo won’t do too much against Rennes.”

Mikey Johnston won’t feature against the French side after picking up an injury against Sarajevo.

Lennon admits that’s a blow, given that the 20-year-old attacker is on the verge of nailing down a regular place.

He said: “Mikey will miss the second leg with a thigh strain.

“It’s nothing serious and he’ll be back available for the next round should we get there.

“Losing Mikey is a blow because he’s done really well. Thankfully, it’s not big issue.

“He should be back in a week to ten days and that’s important.



Mikey isn’t young anymore. He’s 20 and when do you stop calling them boys?

“He’s a man now and we feel that he should really be kicking on.

“This is a big season for him and he’s started in the right vein.

“He’s a talent. He has the game to play for Celtic and you saw that with his goal in Sarajevo.

“I hope it won’t be one of those stop-start seasons for him with niggly injuries.

“We touched on conditioning with him and he’s worked hard over the summer.

“It’s just a question of keeping him fit but James Forrest had similar issues when he was coming through.”

 

I like Lennon's comments on Johnston - promising!

 

I like his recent comments, in general.

 

He's a lot more open than Rodgers was, which is refreshing

 

I agree but that's a 2 way street.

I did not want Lennon back as manager - however, now that he is - I am right behind him and will give him a fair shake.

If there is anyone who actually wants him to fail - they're not really supporters in my view.

However, we are a professional club and a Global brand - we don't run on sentiment. During the debate on this site prior to his appointment, there were a few Lennon fans who were acting as if we were fighting off Man City or Barcelona to get him and totally ignoring his (average to put it mildly) record over the past few years and/or making excuses for him.

Lennon agreed terms and a transfer budget with PL and signed on the dotted line. Therefore - as far as I'm concerned, the buck now stops with him.

I will be delighted if he dispels my doubts about his managerial ability and certainly won't hesitate to admit that I was wrong. On the other hand - if the performances aren't good (over a period of time - not just the odd bad day) - then he is as valid a target for criticism as anyone else. The fact that he is a "real Celtic man" or what he has done in the past is of no relevance - its about results - simple as that.

 

Rodgers interviews were like the ones of a politician. The answers were always ready before it, didnt matter the context or result. He would always say vague, inane, double speak bullshit when not explicitly lying ("quality before quantity"). Lennon, of course, is more of an honest and less polished person

 

Speaks very well and as others have said, it's refreshing how open and honest he is compared with the previous manager's smoke and mirrors.
I openly didn't want him back, nothing personal, love the guy, just wanted better and felt his time had been and gone,same way I wouldn't want Henrik back playing up front every week but will support him now he's here.
The pettiness from both his supporters and detractors on here is tedious and a bit pathetic though, snide wee comments to support your agenda. I'd never actively want us to lose just to say I told you so or anything like that,I will praise when it's due and moan when I feel it's warranted don't see a problem with that.

 

How open he is can backfire though such as the Morrison situation. He’s just got to watch not to be making promises he can’t keep.