Neil Lennon can ignore Celtic fans but not his former team-mates

JOHN GREECHAN: When your friends are telling you it’s over, it’s time to listen, Neil… Celtic boss Lennon’s assault on critics and Dubai debacle has left him in an untenable position, the smartest know to walk before reputation is tarnished forever

• Neil Lennon has faced calls from Celtic fans to leave his position as manager 
• Lennon has also been told to go by two of his former Celtic team-mates
• Stiliyan Petrov and John Hartson have both called on him to resign as boss 
• Celtic are 21 points behind rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership title race 

Real friends tell you the truth. Even when it’s the last thing you want to hear. Even if it puts the relationship at risk.

Neil Lennon should consider the source, then, before dismissing all criticism as the inevitable sniping of sworn enemies or — more laughably — evidence of some nefarious political plot.

When even the people who like and admire you are calling you out and advising a dignified retreat, maybe there’s more to it than some cheap anti-Celtic agenda?

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has faced countless calls from supporters to resign as manager

At the risk of committing an understatement of Apollo 13 ‘Houston, we have a problem’ proportions, Lennon may not be universally loved by all followers of Scottish football.

But a vast majority of people actually involved in the game have enormous respect for him as a coach, a leader — and a man of character.

So, when former team-mates such as Stiliyan Petrov and John Hartson call for his removal, they’re not settling old scores or even — as Lennon seemed to infer in Monday’s torching of all and sundry — chasing cheap headlines.

John Hartson (left) and Stiliyan Petrov are two former team-mates who also want Lennon to go

Nor are they being disloyal to their old chum. It’s just that theirs is a higher kind of loyalty.

They genuinely believe that a split would be the best thing for both parties. They are entitled to express that view.

Just as every single person living through this global pandemic is allowed to feel aggrieved by Celtic’s Dubai debacle — and not have their honest criticism mischaracterised as something more sinister.

We really are all in this together, for once. It’s not outrageous for us to take an interest in a high-profile example of, at best, poor judgment leading to an increased risk of infection.

And, in case you hadn’t noticed, the average person’s sympathy for what used to be called the jet set — be they influencers or footballers, tennis players or ‘Insta personalities’ — was exhausted early in the first wave.

The best advice to anyone in a privileged position is simply to keep your head down. And, if you do something unwise, apologise like your career depends on it.

What to make, then, of Lennon’s no-holds-barred, no-prisoners-taken, non-je-ne-regrette-rien assault on anyone questioning his team’s intentions or behaviour?

Celtic were heavily criticised for going ahead with a trip to Dubai despite rising Covid-19 cases

Whatever reasonable points the head coach may have been making, they were buried under so much stuff and nonsense.

Celtic have not been ‘treated like common criminals’. Someone taking a photo of players without their permission is not the real problem. Sure, there’s an element of hypocrisy in the SFA floating the idea of charges, given the widely-applauded celebration scenes following Scotland’s Euro 2020 qualification in Serbia.

Just for the record, though, that David Marshall appreciation party took place in November. Now, think about how much has changed in your own daily life since then. So Lennon can complain about the goalposts being moved retrospectively, if he likes.

With the virus constantly mutating into new and more infectious strains, sometimes you just need to declare the pitch completely unplayable.

The rules on air travel were tweaked halfway through the trip you say? Yes, because it’s now suspected that spending hours in a highly-pressurised, completely enclosed space of variable air quality might be a bigger risk than first predicted. Shocker.

Look, at least there’s a blunt honesty about Lennon’s approach. He’s the antithesis of the official corporate streak that runs right through so many aspects of modern life.

Celtic are 21 points behind fierce rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership title race 

You know the sort of thing. The carefully-vetted statement declaring — in direct contravention of all available evidence — that ‘customer service/public health/our fans… is our No 1 priority.’

Such barefaced lies are just accepted in this world of alternative facts. This age of opinions being changed not by evidence, but by self-interest.

Yes, Celtic and Rangers fans currently swapping places on the whole ‘null and void’ issue, we mean you.

In giving vent to his deep-seated frustrations just days after Peter Lawwell’s public apology, of course, Lennon has put himself publicly at odds with the Celtic chief executive.

Refusing to toe the company line is certainly a very interesting tactic, just as Lawwell is presumably putting the final touches on that promised review of all football operations.

Even if embarrassing the boss doesn’t have a major bearing on said review, Lennon’s take on Dubai remains problematic for the Celtic board.

If they see him making such a colossal misjudgment on this issue, burning bridges when he should be building them, it’s only natural for them to wonder what else he’s getting wrong.

Football management is a hellishly difficult job, its most lowly exponents possessing the magic touch of an alchemist, the courage of a warrior and the soft skills of a counsellor. On top of all the expected qualities.

And even the best find themselves in unsalvageable positions. The smartest recognise those situations — and know enough to walk away before their reputation is tarnished forever.

A number of people have already declared Monday’s inflammatory press conference as a sort of ‘last stand’ for Lennon. A cunning attempt to… well, what exactly?

Maybe the players will be roused by his rallying cry. He wouldn’t be the first gaffer to create a siege mentality as a deliberate attempt to galvanise a squad.

There might even be a few in the cheap seats who enjoyed ‘Lenny’ having a pop at all and sundry.

But the majority aren’t listening. Increasingly, they just wish Lennon would take heed of the friendly advice that is coming his way. 

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