Disco Deejay
Well-Known Member
Split over 2 posts, due to length of content...
Fizzing Celtic boss Neil Lennon didn't hold back as he laid into the media and the government for their reaction to the trip to Dubai.
The Hoops manager has accused people of 'bullying' the club, at having an 'agenda' and slaughtered Andy Walker for his opinion on Sky Sports last week.
It came after a second Celtic player was tested positive for Covid-19 - after Christopher Jullien returned a positive test last week.
Lennon also criticised the government and the protocols in Scottish football.
Here's everything Lennon said during his incredible press conference.
Question: How has the last week been for you?
Neil Lennon: Interesting watching the media and the fallout and the attacks on the club. I have a question for you Charles, on your show last week you had Andy Walker on live saying our winter training camp was a jolly. Can you explain to me what he meant by that?
You can’t go on a public platform and spread lies and insults about my professionalism, my players professionalism. 70 to 80 per cent of the players are teetotal. You know the inference and the innuendo he was making. It wasn’t a stag doo, it wasn’t an 18-30, even though it’s being portrayed like that. We went out there with the best intentions, the lads had one day off. We got into Dubai at 7 in the morning and were entitled to a bit of down time.
It’s not as if we did the conga in the dressing room dancing to Baccara or doing a train journey from London to Glasgow while having Covid.
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/sport.../celtic-rangers-involved-spfl-crisis-19614454
I think we’ve been harshly treated. I would apologise to our supporters for the fallout, it shouldn’t have been Peter who had to do it, it should have been me. It was my decision, along with the backroom team, medical staff and sports scientists to go with the best intentions for the benefit of the team going forward for the second half of the season.
Unfortunately it’s not worked out that way, we’ve had one positive test but that shows our protocols were very good out of a group of 60 odd people.
I think the fallout from this has bene way too much and a bit of bullying going on and we’ve been held to a far higher standard than any other club.
What I want is for you to go speak to Andy and for Andy to apologise because he was demanding apologies from the club. I want an apology from Andy because he is questioning my professional integrity, my players professional integrity and the use of the word term ‘jolly’ is quite crass and arrogant.
He accused the club of being arrogant, we weren’t. We had no intention of being arrogant or rubbing it in anyone’s faces. We went out to do a good week’s work and get a volume of work we wouldn’t have got here in Scotland. Until then, you won’t be getting anything from me or my players.
Who is Andy speaking for then? Does he speak for the Celtic support? Is he all of a sudden a man of the people? Challenging the club’s social ethos. Andy has been in the game here for 20/30 years and he’s made no contribution to Celtic whatsoever.
I’m not sure he’s in a position, he stood up there as if he was a Celtic legend and a stalwart of the club, putting the boot into me, the club and everyone involved and I think he’s totally out of order.
Who is he speaking for?
He’s on your platform.
His opinion is false and it’s insulting.
Peter apologised on behalf of the club last week and you felt you should have been in a position, when you look back over the last week or so is this a point where the stuff off the pitch has taken the headlines? A couple of draws and a loss to Rangers, has this overshadowed it?
There seems to be some sort of agenda being driven here. We played very well at Ibrox and didn’t deserve to lose the game. We were the better team. We’ve come back and been absolutely decimated by these rules. I’m not convinced they’re a public health issue, it seems political in my opinion. Nobody has got Covid. Our protocols were perfect. We’ve been decimated the last two games.
The players have done all they can, the ones who have been left behind to play the games. Could have played a little bit better in both the games but considering some of them hadn’t played in a year and we had some young boys out there doing a man’s job, to come away with two points we’ll have to take it.
Do you feel you have a chance of turning this situation around?
Of course. The league may be beyond us but we’ll not stop trying. What we have to do is start winning games on a consistent and regular basis.
Is everyone back for Wednesday and have they been tested?
Yes. All been tested rigorously. I’ve been tested five or six times myself. We’ve all been tested again today, we get the results back later on but from the lateral flow test this morning, everyone is negative.
How did you keep in contact?
Just by technology. Obviously you had zoom, you had cameras at the game, cameras in the dressing room as well.
Is it worth an apology for what’s happened?
At the end of the day we’ve gone out there with the best of intentions and professional, just as other clubs are doing at the minute. We were out there speaking to the manager of the training complex and he was saying ‘if there’s a circuit break in England, we’ve had some enquiries from English clubs as well’. British athletics were out there, Zenit St Petersburg are out there now, it wasn’t just exclusive to Celtic going out there. Other clubs use the facility as well because it’s world class.
I do regret that we lost 13 players and three very important members of staff but that was out of our control.
Was there a doubt in your mind?
I was just hoping that we’d go out there and get away from the pressure a little bit, get some warm weather, train, get them refreshed like we have done many many times before and get a positive impact when we come back. Always in the back of your mind there’s a worry someone might pick it up but you don’t imagine you’re going to lose 13 players and three staff because one player has picked it up somewhere.
When you come back and the whole thing explodes, do you feel in some ways has it created this madness but it’s also hampered your chances of sitting down with Peter and saying ‘I’ve turned this around’?
I don’t think it’s hampered my position. I’ve had chats with Peter on a daily basis. We feel we’ve been held to a higher standard than other clubs. There’s outbreaks across the country, Aston Villa shut down, Raith Rovers. They haven’t travelled anywhere. We could have maybe stayed here and had an outbreak but because our protocols have been so good, we’ve been able to quell that.
In terms of the trip itself, we felt really good on the way back. We felt we had a good week, quality of work physically and mentally really good coming back for the second half of the season. But this thing has taken off and we’ve been shot at from all sides rightly or wrongly. You all have your own opinions professional or morally but right from when this was first mooted, I thought it would be the best thing to do at the time.
More politically motivated
I’m not getting into a fight with the government but I’ll leave it out there. Sorry just to clarify there, Iain has just told me that we’ve had one other person who has been deemed positive. So we’ve had two out of the whole 60. The person would rather remain private.
Discussions with Peter, do you feel Peter has said to you you’re the man?
He’s not said that, no, but I don’t think he needs to either. My job is to carry on and get the best out of the team. It was only a month ago we won the treble but now there’s a bloodlust for me to lose my job. There has been for quite a while but that’s the nature of being a football manager in this day and age.
Is it another player?
Yes.
Fizzing Celtic boss Neil Lennon didn't hold back as he laid into the media and the government for their reaction to the trip to Dubai.
The Hoops manager has accused people of 'bullying' the club, at having an 'agenda' and slaughtered Andy Walker for his opinion on Sky Sports last week.
It came after a second Celtic player was tested positive for Covid-19 - after Christopher Jullien returned a positive test last week.
Lennon also criticised the government and the protocols in Scottish football.
Here's everything Lennon said during his incredible press conference.
Question: How has the last week been for you?
Neil Lennon: Interesting watching the media and the fallout and the attacks on the club. I have a question for you Charles, on your show last week you had Andy Walker on live saying our winter training camp was a jolly. Can you explain to me what he meant by that?
You can’t go on a public platform and spread lies and insults about my professionalism, my players professionalism. 70 to 80 per cent of the players are teetotal. You know the inference and the innuendo he was making. It wasn’t a stag doo, it wasn’t an 18-30, even though it’s being portrayed like that. We went out there with the best intentions, the lads had one day off. We got into Dubai at 7 in the morning and were entitled to a bit of down time.
It’s not as if we did the conga in the dressing room dancing to Baccara or doing a train journey from London to Glasgow while having Covid.
https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/sport.../celtic-rangers-involved-spfl-crisis-19614454
I think we’ve been harshly treated. I would apologise to our supporters for the fallout, it shouldn’t have been Peter who had to do it, it should have been me. It was my decision, along with the backroom team, medical staff and sports scientists to go with the best intentions for the benefit of the team going forward for the second half of the season.
Unfortunately it’s not worked out that way, we’ve had one positive test but that shows our protocols were very good out of a group of 60 odd people.
I think the fallout from this has bene way too much and a bit of bullying going on and we’ve been held to a far higher standard than any other club.
What I want is for you to go speak to Andy and for Andy to apologise because he was demanding apologies from the club. I want an apology from Andy because he is questioning my professional integrity, my players professional integrity and the use of the word term ‘jolly’ is quite crass and arrogant.
He accused the club of being arrogant, we weren’t. We had no intention of being arrogant or rubbing it in anyone’s faces. We went out to do a good week’s work and get a volume of work we wouldn’t have got here in Scotland. Until then, you won’t be getting anything from me or my players.
Who is Andy speaking for then? Does he speak for the Celtic support? Is he all of a sudden a man of the people? Challenging the club’s social ethos. Andy has been in the game here for 20/30 years and he’s made no contribution to Celtic whatsoever.
I’m not sure he’s in a position, he stood up there as if he was a Celtic legend and a stalwart of the club, putting the boot into me, the club and everyone involved and I think he’s totally out of order.
Who is he speaking for?
He’s on your platform.
His opinion is false and it’s insulting.
Peter apologised on behalf of the club last week and you felt you should have been in a position, when you look back over the last week or so is this a point where the stuff off the pitch has taken the headlines? A couple of draws and a loss to Rangers, has this overshadowed it?
There seems to be some sort of agenda being driven here. We played very well at Ibrox and didn’t deserve to lose the game. We were the better team. We’ve come back and been absolutely decimated by these rules. I’m not convinced they’re a public health issue, it seems political in my opinion. Nobody has got Covid. Our protocols were perfect. We’ve been decimated the last two games.
The players have done all they can, the ones who have been left behind to play the games. Could have played a little bit better in both the games but considering some of them hadn’t played in a year and we had some young boys out there doing a man’s job, to come away with two points we’ll have to take it.
We’re very motivated, it’s great to see all the players so we want to go on a run now and put in the type of performances we put in towards the end of December.
Do you feel you have a chance of turning this situation around?
Of course. The league may be beyond us but we’ll not stop trying. What we have to do is start winning games on a consistent and regular basis.
Is everyone back for Wednesday and have they been tested?
Yes. All been tested rigorously. I’ve been tested five or six times myself. We’ve all been tested again today, we get the results back later on but from the lateral flow test this morning, everyone is negative.
How did you keep in contact?
Just by technology. Obviously you had zoom, you had cameras at the game, cameras in the dressing room as well.
Is it worth an apology for what’s happened?
At the end of the day we’ve gone out there with the best of intentions and professional, just as other clubs are doing at the minute. We were out there speaking to the manager of the training complex and he was saying ‘if there’s a circuit break in England, we’ve had some enquiries from English clubs as well’. British athletics were out there, Zenit St Petersburg are out there now, it wasn’t just exclusive to Celtic going out there. Other clubs use the facility as well because it’s world class.
I do regret that we lost 13 players and three very important members of staff but that was out of our control.
Was there a doubt in your mind?
I was just hoping that we’d go out there and get away from the pressure a little bit, get some warm weather, train, get them refreshed like we have done many many times before and get a positive impact when we come back. Always in the back of your mind there’s a worry someone might pick it up but you don’t imagine you’re going to lose 13 players and three staff because one player has picked it up somewhere.
When you come back and the whole thing explodes, do you feel in some ways has it created this madness but it’s also hampered your chances of sitting down with Peter and saying ‘I’ve turned this around’?
I don’t think it’s hampered my position. I’ve had chats with Peter on a daily basis. We feel we’ve been held to a higher standard than other clubs. There’s outbreaks across the country, Aston Villa shut down, Raith Rovers. They haven’t travelled anywhere. We could have maybe stayed here and had an outbreak but because our protocols have been so good, we’ve been able to quell that.
In terms of the trip itself, we felt really good on the way back. We felt we had a good week, quality of work physically and mentally really good coming back for the second half of the season. But this thing has taken off and we’ve been shot at from all sides rightly or wrongly. You all have your own opinions professional or morally but right from when this was first mooted, I thought it would be the best thing to do at the time.
More politically motivated
I’m not getting into a fight with the government but I’ll leave it out there. Sorry just to clarify there, Iain has just told me that we’ve had one other person who has been deemed positive. So we’ve had two out of the whole 60. The person would rather remain private.
Discussions with Peter, do you feel Peter has said to you you’re the man?
He’s not said that, no, but I don’t think he needs to either. My job is to carry on and get the best out of the team. It was only a month ago we won the treble but now there’s a bloodlust for me to lose my job. There has been for quite a while but that’s the nature of being a football manager in this day and age.
Is it another player?
Yes.
