On Saturday, three days after beating Hibs at Easter Road in the League Cup, Celtic faced Hibs again, this time at Parkhead. With SPL leaders Rangers having already won in Aberdeen earlier in the day, Celtic needed to win to keep the gap to Rangers at 10 points. But a frustrating afternoon resulted in a 0-0 draw, increasing Rangers advantage to 12 points, and worse, allowing Motherwell to open up a 3 point lead over Celtic in second place.
Unsurprisingly, Lennon was furious after the game, threatening to name and shame players he considered to be hiding and not giving their all. It’s not hard to see why Lennon is so upset. Although the finished as runners-up to Rangers in the 10/11 season, they dropped points in just 9 games and lost just 4. After 12 SPL games this season, they’ve already lost three times and drawn twice. Numerous first team members are injured, or have been injured, including last season’s top scorer Gary Hooper, and captain Scott Brown. Kris Commons, who made such an impact after joining in January, has lost form and is also now injured, and their summer signings have yet to perform as expected.
Now Celtic face two important games in the next week that could have a major impact on their season, and could either ease or increase the pressure mounting on Lennon. On Thursday night, Celtic entertain Rennes in the Europa League. Celtic have just 2 points from the first three games of the group, following a home draw against Udinese, and a draw with Rennes in France. Anything other than a win would make it extremely difficult for Celtic to progress from the group. In the other match, Udinese travel to Spain to face Atletico Madrid, with a win for the Italians would seal their qualification from the group. If Udinese and Celtic both won, it would move Celtic into second place, a point ahead of Atletico, who they would face at Parkhead in the next round of matches.
Of course, Group I is far from simple, with FC Sion’s ongoing dispute with UEFA casting uncertainty over the group. Sion defeated Celtic in the final qualifying round of the competition, but Celtic appealed the result due to Sion fielding what UEFA regards as ineligible players, having been signed when they had placed a transfer embargo upon the Swiss club. Sion have vehemently fought their corner, as a Swiss court had ruled against UEFA’s decision to enforce the embargo.
On November 24th, Sion and UEFA will go head to head in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and the result could change Group I. Although it is unlikely that Celtic would be removed from the Group to make way for Sion, were the Swiss club added to the group, it could mean an additional 8 fixtures, with Sion playing each of the four teams home and away. This could lead to the Group being extended into next year, with fixtures being played between December and February.
After their game against Rennes, Celtic face a surprisingly important trip to Fir Park to face Motherwell. Stuart McCall’s team has had an impressive start to the season, losing just three games (against Celtic, Rangers and St. Johnstone), and find themselves in 2nd place, nine points behind Rangers. Celtic won convincingly 4-0 at home to Motherwell in September, but another easy victory is not guaranteed on a pitch that often causes opposing teams problems.
With Rangers playing on Saturday, Celtic could go into the game 15 points off the top of the table before their game even kicks off. A defeat would give Motherwell a 6 point advantage (although Celtic would still have a game in hand). A win would put Celtic back into 2nd place, keeping them in touch with Rangers. With that extra game and three Old Firm matches remaining, Celtic would still be able to drag themselves back into the title race.
The pressure is growing on Neil Lennon, and the Celtic players need to respond to his words to kick-start Celtic’s season, or their season could run into major trouble.
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