Neil Lennon credits "a few choice words" for improved Celtic form

| 09 February 2021

The Hoops boss described the 2-1 Scottish Premiership defeat by St Mirren on January 30 as "the lowest point" of his two spells as Parkhead boss.

Neil Lennon revealed "a few choice words" after Celtic's recent defeat to St Mirren elicited the response required ahead of the rematch.

The Hoops boss described the 2-1 Scottish Premiership defeat by the Buddies on January 30 – Celtic's first home loss to Saints since April 1990 – as "the lowest point" of his two spells as Parkhead boss.

The Celtic manager let his players know the extent of his disappointment and they responded with back-to-back wins for the first time this year against Kilmarnock and Motherwell albeit they still remain 21 points behind league leaders Rangers with two games in hand.

Lennon is happier with the "energy and body language" of his players and is looking for their form to continue against Jim Goodwin's men in Paisley on Wednesday night.

"The previous two performances have been very good," said the Northern Irishman, who revealed midfielder Ismaila Soro will be assessed after crashing his car due to weather conditions on Tuesday morning.

"It is difficult to put my finger on the performance against St Mirren, we just didn't seem to have that zip about us at all and we lacked concentration at times as well.

"I had a few choice words, that was all. I told them I was bitterly disappointed.

"I haven't had to do that many times in my second spell (as boss) and I've had a good reaction so far.

"Obviously the game has come around quickly and I am looking for a far better performance than we got at Celtic Park and build on the two recent performances."

Lennon is cognisant of the challenges presented to his players by life during the Covid-19 crisis.

The former Celtic captain said: "It is a huge balancing act. When I said I had some choice words, that was to the group, as a collective, not to any particular individual.

"We reminded them of their responsibilities and that the performance was unacceptable.

"The bottom line is that is my job and when they fall below the standards we set, you have to give them a jag now and again."

Soro, missed a large part of the training session following the snow-affected incident with his car but the 22-year-old Ivorian should be OK for Wednesday.

Lennon said: "Soro had a prang in his car this morning due to the adverse weather conditions. He looks OK.

"We are just checking on him, making sure he is alright. He missed a large part of the session."

Lennon welcomed back winger James Forrest to training following his recovery from ankle surgery, having last played in September away to Riga.

He said: "Jamesy Forrest is back in training but obviously tomorrow night is too soon for him. So that's a welcome boost to the squad.

"Shane Duffy had a bit of a bug in the last couple of days but trained today so he should be available for selection. Ryan Christie is fit and back in the squad as well."