S
SEARCH
M
SW
Wednesday, January 27
Collect News Data
Jan 20, 2021 at 8.15pm UK
LivingstonLivingston
2-2
CelticCeltic
Brown (15'), Emmanuel-Thomas (60')
FT(HT: 1-2)
Elyounoussi (28'), Bitton (38')
Brown (83')
/esi/1339/6_G_1_115008/index.html?art_id=431435&game_id=115008&sport_id=1&ESI

Celtic boss Neil Lennon: 'I will not quit'

:Headline: Celtic boss Neil Lennon: 'I will not quit':
The Hoops boss saw his side held 2-2 at Livingston to trail Rangers by 20 points in the title race.
Sports Mole

Neil Lennon has told Celtic they will have to sack him if they want a new boss after insisting he will not quit his Parkhead job.

The Hoops' campaign of woe plunged to new depths as they dropped points for the fourth match in a row following a 2-2 draw at Livingston.

Skipper Scott Brown was sent off just five minutes after coming on as a substitute as frustrations at the unravelling of the champions' season boiled over.

Livingston's Ciaron Brown gave his side an early lead (Andrew Milligan/PA)

The result leaves Lennon's team 20 points adrift of runaway Premiership leaders Rangers with two games in hand and their dreams of 10-in-a-row now surely dead.

The furious Parkhead faithful have made their feelings abundantly clear already in recent weeks, demanding Lennon goes.

But the Northern Irishman said: "I won't walk away, absolutely not. I've put too much into this. Too much of my life. And a month ago we won the treble.

"We've lost two games in the league. Europe wasn't good enough and we're out of the League Cup. But we're human beings and we haven't played well for whatever reason.

"We can analyse it to death. Maybe no fans has had an adverse effect, I don't know. But they haven't reached the levels of last season by any stretch of the imagination.

Celtic's Mohamed Elyounoussi scored to bring his side level (Andrew Milligan/PA)

"I haven't changed my procedures, my philosophy hasn't changed but for some reason too many haven't reached anywhere near their levels.

"If the club have to make a decision then they have to make a decision. You're asking the wrong guy about my position.

"I'm fed up answering it really. Everyone is interested in my job. You keep asking if I'm going to be here. I will be until I'm told otherwise.

"There have been many (fans who don't support me) like that since I got the job. But we've won five trophies out of six. Not bad."

Lennon came out swinging on Monday as he hit back at his club's Dubai critics following their controversial winter training camp.

Scott Brown was sent off after swinging an arm at Livi's Jaze Kabia (Andrew Milligan/PA)

But the only man in green and white to land a telling blow was Brown, who was dismissed just moments after being introduced from the bench after aiming a flailing arm at Livi's Jaze Kabia.

And Lennon could not defend the defensive display of his team after seeing the Hoops fail to win four league games in a row for the first time since April 2000.

Kristoffer Ajer was guilty of switching off as Ciaron Brown headed Livi in front but the Hoops did hit back through Mohammed Elyounoussi and Nir Bitton.

However, their fragility at the back was exposed yet again in the 60th minute as Jay Emmanuel-Thomas fired David Martindale's impressive Lions level.

"We have to do better, win the game and defend properly," said Lennon.

Livingston manager David Martindale is keen for his side's good run to continue (Andrew Milligan/PA)

"At their first goal, Brown brushes off Kris and it's not good enough. We chase the game, play brilliantly to get back into it and in the second half we were excellent until the goal.

"The second is a poor goal to concede. It was symptomatic of us. There have been too many draws this season – seven draws have really hampered us.

"The sending-off is disappointing. Scott should know better. It was totally unnecessary. I'll need to see it again to have an opinion but I'm told it's a red. Ill discipline has cost us."

Martindale rested seven players ahead of Sunday's Betfred Cup semi-final with St Mirren but Livi were still able to keep their 10-game unbeaten run under the new boss going.

And he said: "I'm delighted for the boys but frustrated because we could have taken three points. I thought there was a stonewall penalty late in the second half which was missed but you do miss things.

"When Celtic went down to 10 we got a couple of very good counter-attacks which we might have done better with. I'm disappointed but delighted for the boys the unbeaten run keeps going. If it goes for one more game I'll be delighted."

body check tags ::

amp_article_431435 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-01-21 00:01:16:
html db last update - 2021-01-27 01:46:15 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html

Click here for more stories about Neil Lennon

Click here for more stories about Celtic

Read more!
Share this article now:

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
St Johnstone dispute "inaccurate" Neil Lennon claims on protocols
Tuchel 'wants to bring Haaland to Chelsea this summer'
Man City, Man United 'both negotiating for Gabriel Veron'
Jeremie Frimpong joins Bayer Leverkusen on four-year deal
Scottish Premiership Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1RangersRangers2522306575869
2Celtic22137248183046
3Aberdeen2412753124743
4Hibernian2411763324940
5Livingston239593029132
6Dundee UnitedDundee Utd2561092033-1328
7St Mirren2275102025-526
8Kilmarnock2373132428-424
9St Johnstone2559112233-1124
10Motherwell2457122136-1522
11Ross County2655161950-3120
12Hamilton AcademicalHamilton2354142147-2619
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our Newsletter


Transfer Talk Daily
Match previews - twice weekly
Morning Briefing (7am UTC)
UC
Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City19125236132341
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd19124336251140
3Leicester CityLeicester19122535211438
4West Ham UnitedWest Ham2010553024635
5Liverpool1997337221534
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1896333171633
7Aston Villa18102633191432
8Everton1710252821732
9Chelsea2086633231030
10Arsenal209382620630
11Southampton198562724329
12Leeds UnitedLeeds198293235-326
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves206592129-823
14Crystal Palace206592436-1223
15Burnley1954101124-1319
16Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2054111934-1519
17Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton193882229-717
18Fulham1826101527-1212
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom2025131548-3311
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1912161032-225
Scroll for more - Tap for full version
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
X

We value your privacy

A part of our GDPR compliance we need to ask for your consent. We and our partners use technology such as cookies on Sports Mole to personalise content and ads, provide social media features, and analyse our traffic. Click below to consent to the use of this technology on Sports Mole.