“Lennon’s Plea: Celtic Stars Urged to Hold Off on Rangers Revels, Manager Voices Disapproval”
Neil Lennon criticised the “modern phenomenon” that has crept into the game and encouraged Celtic to save their festivities until trophy day.
After defeating Rangers 2-1 at Parkhead to take the Scottish Premiership trophy in their hands, Brendan Rodgers’ team ignited the celebration at full time by chanting and jumping up with the supporters. Thanks to goals by Matt O’Riley and an own goal by John Lundstram, the Hoops are now just one point away from winning the championship. With just two games remaining, they lead by six points and have a better goal differential. O’Riley, who scored the first goal, also had Jack Butland save a penalty kick, and Cyriel Dessers scored for Rangers.
In the first forty-five minutes of a furious derby match played in the Glasgow sunshine, the visitors also had Lundstram sent off for a straight red card.
When asked about the players’ celebrations following the game, Lennon said to Sky Sports, “I don’t like it.” It doesn’t appeal to me. No, pay attention; once more, I am directly ahead of you. Permit the players to take any necessary action. It is okay to complete it on trophy day. You have all afternoon to complete it. It appears to be a contemporary occurrence. You perform a lap of honour after winning a football match. Simply put, I’m not into it.”
He thought his former team had complete control of the game, but they were unable to capitalise on their opportunities, and Rangers ended up with a pleasing final result. However, he has declared the championship race to be over, and Rodgers’ team will face Kilmarnock and St. Mirren the following week.
It’s been the story of the season,” Lennon continued. I believe Celtic is putting a lot of effort into it. Even though they had complete control, they squandered numerous opportunities, including the penalty. Even though it was poorly hit, Rangers are kept in the game by [Jack] Butland’s save. Joe Hart didn’t need to make any saves in the second half, as far as I can recall. Actually, the score may be in favour of Rangers.
“Everything hinges on the red card. It’s a moment of John Lundstram’s insanity. The next question was how many goals Celtic will score. They ended up winning the game even though they didn’t score any more. In a compelling way, would you say? Yes, by the game’s throws, but not by the score.
That concludes the title for me. To have accomplished it, they simply need to win one of the next two games. To the players, congratulations. It was undoubtedly a big game today, and they generally handled it fairly well.”
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