Following Celtic’s 2-0 defeat at Ibrox yesterday afternoon, interim boss Neil Lennon believes that his side did not have as much hunger as their counterparts and that the better side won on the day.
Goals from James Tavernier and Scott Arfield saw Celtic lose the final Old Firm meeting of the campaign. Despite the Hoops already winning the Scottish Premier League title, their lead at the top has now been cut to six points.
Lennon was critical of his side’s performance but with a Scottish Cup final against Hearts still to play, he believes that his players will respond.
“The better team won,” Lennon told Sky Sports. (via the BBC)
“We weren’t at the races. We got beaten and deservedly so.
“They’ll know they have a huge cup final coming up in two weeks time and there may be places up for grabs, so that should be motivation enough for them,” Lennon added.
“That performance was unacceptable even though they’ve been brilliant for a long period of time. It just seemed like Rangers wanted it more today than we did. I think that’s the biggest criticism we can aim at the players.”
OPINION
It’s easy for Neil Lennon to put the defeat down to a lack of effort. Rangers were deserved winners and showed better quality in the right areas. It’s doubtful that any player involved in an Old Firm can fail to get themselves motivated – Lennon is blaming the defeat on lack of effort to overshadow the clear gaps. Rangers will continue to rebuild in the summer and add to their ranks, Celtic must match the Gers and do the same. Lennon has delivered and secured the Hoops their eighth successive league title. However, in the long-term, the Northern Irishman is surely not the man to take the club forward. Celtic must really asses their options over the summer and bring in a manager who can continue the dominance of Scottish football. Rangers will be a much stronger outfit next season having had a full season under Steven Gerrard. This is now a transition period for the Bhoys and it’s crucial that the correct decisions are made.