Dermot Desmond has this morning chosen to stick with Neil Lennon as the boss giving him “one last chance” to turn this around. The Irish billionaire is said to be so disgusted at the actions of Celtic supporters on Sunday night, he has decided to dig his heels in and back the manager. This is a far cry from when Delia failed and he moved quickly to secure Brendan Rodgers in 2016.
But where is this faith in Lennon coming from? Genuine belief in the managers ability or just plain stubborn arrogance? Even Desmond must see what is being served up on the pitch? Eliminated from the Champions League at home against a Hungarian side that past Celtic teams would have swept aside. Eliminated from Europe after a humiliating 4-1 home and away defeat against Sparta Prague. A 2-0 home defeat in the Glasgow Derby where Celtic failed to record a single shot on target and not forgetting Sundays result against Ross County.
Desmond must have sat and watched all these defeats. Surely he has seen the manner in how his team has been knocked out of three cup competitions before December has even kicked in and SURELY he has watched as Celtic have surrendered an eleven point gap to Rrangers at the top of the league?
Less than a week were it was reported that Lennon held a Zoom call with Lawwell and Desmond after the humiliation in Prague, the fact that another phone call/meeting had to take place after another disastrous result and weak performance tells you one thing. The manager is finding it almost impossible to turn it around.
In Celtic’s fixtures in November, across all competitions they have played five games, won one, drawn one and lost three. Scoring seven goals but conceding TWELVE and during that time can’t seem to find their best starting eleven. This is hardly form of a team “turning it around”.
Desmond must have a plan. There must be reasoning behind this recent decision because surely such an astute businessman isn’t gambling not only the ten in a row but the right to earn millions off the back achieving the record in merchandising and season ticket sales just to spite the actions of the Celtic fans on Sunday night?