Former Celtic captain, Jackie McNamara, has questioned Neil Lennon and his former club’s tactics as they put their faith in Jeremie Frimpong to be their main attacking outlet.
Speaking to Football Insider, McNamara looked at the Hoops tactics and how it maybe affected the Dutch youth international.
So what did McNamara say?
When asked about how Frimpong was utilised against Rangers, McNamara said:
“They tried to push the two full-backs on as wing-backs and I thought they were relying really, really heavily on Frimpong to produce something as there wasn’t really any other creativity coming from wider areas”.
“Yeah (there was too much pressure wrongly put on Frimpong) then again I did think he did well in the game”.
“He maybe got tired towards the end, which is understandable as he played against St Mirren and did well, but then again when you’re at a big club, they want you to play and handle all sides of the game”.
So is McNamara correct?
Yes, to a certain extent, but there is a reason for it, Frimpong has been one of Celtic’s best attacking weapons from deep since he broke through into the first team. His ability to get past the first man and create defensive chaos would’ve been a key component of Lennon’s game plan.
He might just be 19-years-old, but he has only played 17 games – not even half of Celtic’s this season – so he will be far from overworked or overplayed. At his age, the experience that he gains from every match can’t be replicated on the training ground.
Lennon was justified in his selection of Frimpong, not only was he one of the few players with pass marks but he was also the player who made up the ground on Alfredo Morelos to block his 96th minute shot prior to him getting sent off.
Were Celtic over reliant on Jeremie Frimpong in derby defeat?
Yes
No
Frimpong responded well to his own sending off in the Betfred Cup final and although he was on the losing side on this occasion, he has plenty to be proud about in his performance.