Neil Lennon spoke of the difficulties of managing Celtic during a pandemic and how the support of the fans inside the stadium has affected the team and performances. The video can be found here and one thing I took from it is the passion the Celtic manager shows about managing the team and the quest for the “Ten”.
Lennon said of the fans, “Well the thing from my point of view of we miss the fans as much as any other club in Europe, I think the players have really found it difficult you know playing at the stadiums
“It’s not normal and I think it affects them subconsciously at times within, that rawness in the atmosphere doesn’t have electricity, it’s been really difficult for them to adapt to the stadium and we know that most times it’s full. Whether you’re home or away. You know, it’s been difficult circumstances for everyone, not just the sport and society, but hopefully we’re seeing the turn of the corner with us and we’ll get the supporters back
Lennon was then asked if he has confidence in his ability to turn around this run of results and the Celtic gaffer replied, ” The Lille game is the ninth anniversary of the game against Hearts when Fraser Forster saved the penalty, and we could have been maybe 10 or 11 points behind Rangers. And we turned it around that season, so there’s evidence that we can do it. And the players need to buy into that and understand that. And I think that’s a huge motivation for going forward”
Lennon went on to talk about the support he has from the board during this tough run of results and his belief that he can turn the fortunes round, “I believe I’ve proven I can do this. No one wants it more than myself, but I can’t, you know, project that sort of desperation to the players, it has to be calm and has to be consistent we have to do it bit by bit. We can’t look too far ahead. My record speaks for itself when it comes to winning championships, whether it be as a player or a manager.”
“I haven’t done it all myself. I have had great players and coaches that I’ve worked with. I’ve had great players underneath me so it’s been a concerted effort.
“I’ve also got to agree, the support from CEO Peter Lawwell, he’s brought mega success the club. And we want more, we are hungry. We just need to translate that onto the pitch and bring it out to the supporters.
Some real positivity from the manager and the fans will be hoping that the recent results will continue on the pitch.