OPINION
All eyes were on the dugout rather than the pitch at Tynecastle as Neil Lennon took his Celtic side to Hearts for his first game in charge of his second spell at the club.
In a game which lived up to the drama of the midweek managerial switch, the Hoops managed to snatch a last-minute winner after seeing James Forrest’s opener cancelled out by a penalty from the home side.
It was by no means a vintage performance from the Bhoys in front of their new boss – the defence particularly suspect throughout – but they got the all important three points courtesy of Odsonne Edouard’s injury time strike.
So what did Lennon – and the fans – take away from their dramatic win?
This is Futbol has picked out three things learned about the Bhoys in their clash at Tynecastle:
Rodgers exit a disruption
The players and Neil Lennon might try to deny but there is no getting away from the fact that Brendan Rodgers’ exit has had an impact.
It was not the same fluid performance that the fans had become accustomed to and it looked as though there were definitely other things on the players’ minds, not least in defence.
The attack was not much better, struggling to make too many inroads through the Hearts back line, and Lennon clearly has a job to get things back on track.
Brown a surprise game changer
Scott Brown is not a man known for deft touches and clever passes – the midfielder’s game usually big and brash – but instead of taking the game by the scruff of the neck he produced a moment of magic instead.
It was a sumptuous ball to Edouard for the winner and showed the quality that the Hoops captain has in his locker when he chooses to show it.
Do not expect this sort of showing on a regular basis but when it is needed, Brown can pull it off.
Ajer, Boyata and Bitton all make case for the axe
As stated it was not Celtic’s best performance of the season and there were a trio of starters on Wednesday who all made cases why they should be cut out, rather than remain, the XI.
The centre back pairing of Kristoffer Ajer and Dedryck Boyata was a horror show – the penalty showing just how little composure and confidence they have in themselves – and with Filip Benkovic waiting in the wings, both of the duo should be sweating over their place in the side.
As for Nir Bitton, the Hoops may as well played with 10 men for most of the game. He was an anonymous bystander and there is so much more quality in the Celtic squad to call upon – his time is surely coming to an end.