Interim Celtic boss Neil Lennon has criticised the “new breed” of fans allegedly questioning his worthiness to become the permanent Hoops boss.
Lennon came under fire following Celtic’s 2-0 Old Firm Derby defeat to Rangers on Sunday, which was the Bhoys’ second defeat at Ibrox this season.
However the 47-year-old, who won six major honours in a previous managerial spell at Parkhead, insisted that his chances of taking over on a permanent basis would not be affected by the weekend’s performance.
“There is no evidence to suggest I can’t take the job on,” the manager said to the Daily Record.
“I have been here since 2000 and in that time Celtic have won 14 league titles and I have played a part in 10 of them. So I think I know how to win titles here. I think that gets overlooked. If we win the cup that will be my seventh cup and any time we lost the league that I have been involved in it was on the last day of the season.
“I think there is a new breed of supporters, here or elsewhere. Since 20 years ago the only thing they have seen is success. They don’t remember the 1990s as the older generation do. I can’t take it for granted, they might. That comes from an immaturity from their point of view.”
OPINION
There really is no way you could question Neil Lennon’s credentials as the permanent Celtic boss. As he says himself, he has had a hand in delivering a total of 10 Premiership titles in his time as a Hoops player and manager, and who else would Celtic bring in to match that kind of record? Had Brendan Rodgers not gone to Leicester City to have another crack at Premier League management, he would still be here now. But the fact of the matter is, he did go and those at the top of the Celtic hierarchy believed – and rightly so – that Lennon was the ideal man to steady the ship. And why not, given his record? Lennon could even become the man who delivers Celtic the ‘treble treble’ if he can guide the club to victory past Hearts on May 25, and that really would be a killer blow to those trying to uproot him.