Lennon upbeat after Euro flop
05 Aug 2010 - 08:08:40
Manager Neil Lennon refused to be too downcast despite seeing Celtic slip out of the Champions League at the first hurdle.
The Bhoys faced a mountain against Sporting Braga after losing the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round 3-0 in Portugal and they were unable to turn things around, winning 2-1 on the night but losing 4-2 on aggregate.
Lennon commented after his side's exit: "Overall I'm delighted with the performance and intensity and all the things you ask for - commitment and passion.
"The pace we played at and the passing was very pleasing.
"At half-time we just asked them to win the game and I thought we deserved to win.
"But we keep conceding soft goals. I'm learning from it and hopefully the players are learning."
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Labels: after, Lennon, upbeat
Lennon down on decisions
24 Oct 2010 - 18:01:35
Neil Lennon claimed Old Firm rookie referee Willie Collum let him down on two crucial decisions during Sunday`s 3-1 defeat to Rangers at Parkhead.In the lead-up to the match the Hoops boss appealed for 31-year-old Collum, making his debut in the fixture, to get the big decisions right.But the former Celtic skipper claimed Ibrox midfielder Lee McCulloch, booked early in the game, should have walked after preventing Georgios Samaras going through on goal with the game goalless in the first half.And the Irishman thought it was also a wrong decision to award Rangers a penalty after Celtic stopper Daniel Majstorovic clashed with substitute Kirk Broadfoot."I think he got a couple of big decisions wrong," Lennon said. "He has got a lot of questions to answer and I want to know why McCulloch was still on the pitch, it was blatant obstruction when we were breaking. It was a second yellow and they should have been down to 10 men in the second half."And I feel let down on the penalty incident for sure. It's a big decision. I have seen a replay of the penalty and it looked soft. I'm not sure he saw it and I'm not sure why he has given it. At 2-1 we were still in the game, at 3-1 it is very difficult for us."
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Labels: decisions, Lennon
Lennon shares credit for Bhoys award
02 Oct 2010 - 12:26:10
Celtic's Neil Lennon shared the credit around after being named as the SPL Manager of the Month for September.
The Bhoys have won all six of their league games to date, including three out of three last month.
Lennon told the club's official website: "I'm pleased, but it's a reflection on the work that not just myself, but my backroom staff have done.
"It's also a reflection on the players as well, on their efforts so far. We've got good players and everyone has made a contribution in a positive way.
"There have been no players who have let us down, not just the players who were already in the squad, but also the ones who've come in. We're very pleased with their contribution so far."
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Labels: award, Bhoys, credit, Lennon, shares
Lennon hopes officials stay
26 Oct 2010 - 17:30:35
Neil Lennon hopes Steven Craven is not the first of many officials to walk away from the game amid the current climate of inference and innuendo which also saw Old Firm referee Willie Collum receive threats following Sunday's Glasgow derby at Parkhead.
The news on Tuesday morning that Collum had answered a number of threatening phone-calls at his Lanarkshire home afterwards came the day after assistant referee Craven resigned after being caught up, along with referee Dougie McDonald, in a furore over a decision to deny Celtic a penalty at Dundee United last week.
"I'm sorry to hear that the linesman resigned and we are still waiting to hear the reasons why," he said.
"I don't want to see anybody losing their job. They do it for the love of the game for a start.
"Every season seems to bring an increasing amount of pressure, not just on referees, but on managers and players because of the spotlight they are under.
"I don't want to see them (officials) walking away from the game when they have worked so hard to get in to that position. But all we want is the big decisions to be called right.
"I think we have a decent relationship with the SFA but if you get an incident like last week, very high profile and controversial, we are within our rights to ask questions as to what went wrong and why the decision was changed. That's all.
"I was asked a question about the penalty decision on Sunday and I gave an honest answer.
"I think the majority of people would have agreed with me that it shouldn't' have been a penalty. Maybe (the relationship with the SFA will become frosty) but all we are looking for is clarification."
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Labels: hopes, Lennon, officials
Lennon warned of Rangers threat
25 Oct 2010 - 08:04:56
Neil Lennon revealed he warned his players at half-time in Sunday's 3-1 Old Firm defeat by Rangers at Parkhead not to write off their Old Firm rivals.
The Hoops led after Gary Hooper slammed in from close range in first-half injury time following a Ki Sung-Yueng corner. However, Glenn Loovens' own goal three minutes in to the second half cancelled that out and Kenny Miller volleyed Rangers ahead before adding a third with a controversial penalty.
"We said to them at half-time that Rangers might score at any time so stay in the game and stick to what you were doing in the first half," Lennon said.
"I felt we were getting better as the first half went on and then we got the goal.
"We gave them all the warnings but we invited pressure for no apparent reason whatsoever at the second goal and goals change the psychology of games although I thought the third one was a soft penalty.
"It was a bad day. There will be regrets in the dressing room and some players will feel that they didn't do themselves justice.
"Inexperienced mistakes from experienced players cost us but hopefully the players will learn, take that on board and make sure they don't make the same mistakes again."
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Lennon warned of Rangers threat
25 Oct 2010 - 08:04:56
Neil Lennon revealed he warned his players at half-time in Sunday's 3-1 Old Firm defeat by Rangers at Parkhead not to write off their Old Firm rivals.
The Hoops led after Gary Hooper slammed in from close range in first-half injury time following a Ki Sung-Yueng corner. However, Glenn Loovens' own goal three minutes in to the second half cancelled that out and Kenny Miller volleyed Rangers ahead before adding a third with a controversial penalty.
"We said to them at half-time that Rangers might score at any time so stay in the game and stick to what you were doing in the first half," Lennon said.
"I felt we were getting better as the first half went on and then we got the goal.
"We gave them all the warnings but we invited pressure for no apparent reason whatsoever at the second goal and goals change the psychology of games although I thought the third one was a soft penalty.
"It was a bad day. There will be regrets in the dressing room and some players will feel that they didn't do themselves justice.
"Inexperienced mistakes from experienced players cost us but hopefully the players will learn, take that on board and make sure they don't make the same mistakes again."
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Labels: Lennon, Rangers, threat, warned
