KRIS COMMONS has dropped some incredible insight into Neil Lennon’s first tenure at the club as he revealed some of the top players who left the club at the time didn’t want to go and would’ve stayed if Celtic had the club been more willing to do a deal.
Commons was signed by Lennon during his first stint in charge of Celtic and the former midfielder claims Peter Lawwell pulled the strings and it infuriated Neil Lennon at times.
Gary Hooper left for Norwich under Lennon with many at the time believing Celtic were powerless to keep the striker. According to Commons, Hooper would have stayed at Celtic but the board were keen to move him on for a few rather than up his wages.
Kris then explains Joe Ledley’s final day at Lennoxtown.
“Wouldn’t it have been better giving Boyata an extra three or four thousand pounds a week?” Commons wrote in the print edition of the Daily Mail.
“When I played, Joe Ledley left Lennoxtown in tears. He didn’t want to go. Gary Hooper was another who would have stayed and wasn’t asking for the world. Georgios Samaras was another.
“That’s what infuriated Neil Lennon in his first spell: an inability to keep hold of his best players.”
Neil Lennon left the role first time around and while they have denied it since, there had to be frustration and butting of heads between Neil and Lawwell.
