CHARLIE NICHOLAS has claimed Neil Lennon won’t have learned a lot from the Motherwell game at the weekend but it was a step in the right direction.
The reaction after the Sparta Prague defeat was good and Charlie praised the Celtic boss for dropping some big names for the visit to Fir Park. Celtic ran out 4-1 winners in the end and eased the pressure on the managers and gave supporters a boost.
However, the former Soccer Saturday pundit believes Neil has a big problem, not knowing what players he can really trust to do the business for him going forward.
Dropping Edouard, Duffy and keeping Ntcham on the bench was the right call in Charlie’s eyes, but the decisions over personnel do not get easier for the Celtic boss.
On the other side of the international break is an away day at Easter Road. The Celtic manager will have to think long and hard about who has got the stomach to win that game; one of the hardest in the SPFL calendar.
Writing for MailSport and cited by The Daily Record, Nicholas believes the manager has one issue:
“Neil Lennon can sleep a lot easier for the next couple of weeks.
“The Celtic boss got the win he needed at the weekend. But, in fairness, this team tends to battle back to rescue situations.
“They lost four against Sparta Prague. It could have been eight.
“Everybody was saying the Motherwell game was a must-win for the manager. I don’t think it was.
“It might have been a must-win for the dressing room because it would take a lot more than a loss for there to be a managerial change.
“Yes, they beat Well, who were hopeless, but trouble is still there. It was the same after they beat Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup but then lost to Sparta Prague.
“Neil made some big decisions at Fir Park. Odsonne Edouard, Olivier Ntcham and Shane Duffy didn’t deserve to start – and Celtic got the right result.
“Neil has got over one issue, but let’s see how he does with the others he faces, including the fact he doesn’t know who to trust right now.
“And Rangers are motoring along, showing they are now tougher.
“They are heaping all the pressure on to the other side of Glasgow.”
The international break gives everyone a breather but on our return, anything short of a win at Hibernian will not be good enough,
