NEIL Lennon last night warned his underperforming Celtic players the “holidays aren’t here yet” following their disappointing 0-0 draw with Hibernian at Easter Road.
Lennon, who revealed that Kieran Tierney will see a specialist about his persistent pelvic and hip problems on Thursday and might not feature again this season due to the pain he is currently experienced, was deeply unhappy at how his men played against his former club.
The Northern Irishman, in interim charge at Parkhead until the end of the season, has been reluctant to be too critical of the triple treble-chasing team he inherited since taking over on a temporary basis back in February.
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However, the 47-year-old admitted he had been furious with their flat display and had let his charges, who are now nine points ahead of Rangers in the Ladbrokes Premiership with four games remaining, know in no uncertain terms their display was unacceptable.
Celtic can win their eighth consecutive Scottish title next weekend if they beat Kilmarnock at home on Saturday and then their nearest challenges Rangers fail to defeat Aberdeen at Ibrox the following day.
But Lennon said: “We are going for the title, the holidays aren’t here yet. Forget about the noise out there - ‘you can win it here, you can win it there’. You’ve got to win the games and that’s what is angering me at the moment.
“We are up and down at the minute and the attitude of some of the players is not making me happy. I’ve told them what I expect from here on in.
“I just didn’t like our approach to the game. We looked a bit lackadaisical, we lacked physicality at times, we lacked energy and we lacked quality.
“Simple, basic decision making was not there today, particularly in the first half. The second half was a lot better. When the game opened up, we looked as if we were going to score and score at will.
“Maybe it is the general consensus out there (that Celtic have won the league). But we are dictating our own destiny here and we have to dictate it a little bit better than we have in the last two league games. That’s it.
🎙 On the Match: #CelticFC manager Neil Lennon gives his thoughts after #HIBCEL stalemate.
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) April 21, 2019
Watch on YouTube ⬇️
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“We are not there yet. I believe eventually we will get there. We don’t want to run before we can walk, but we have to approach the games with a better tempo. But I’m not getting panicky, I’m not getting anxious about anything.
“The game opened up when Hibs started to tire, but our decision making was poor at times. It was very, very frustrating. It was from quality players all over the board - the decision making was difficult to comprehend at times.
“I don’t know if there is anxiety there. There shouldn’t be. We certainly haven’t passed it on, if there is. But I think we have to start games as well as we did last week in the semi-final. If we do, then we will be alright. We didn’t today and let Hibs get a foothold in the game.”
Asked what he had said to his players at half-time, Lennon replied: “That’s not for public consumption. But I wanted more.
“I feel we were worthy of more than a point. To be fair, the Hibs goalkeeper made some world class saves. By all accounts he got Man of the Match, so that says a lot about what we were doing in the second half.
“In the first half, I didn’t think we played well at all. So I’m unhappy about that. But second half was much more like us.”
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Tierney, who played in the 3-0 win over Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final eight days ago, was left out of the Celtic squad and Lennon confirmed he may not play against this season.
“He is seeing a specialist on Thursday about his pelvic and groin area,” he said. “He is just in too much discomfort at the minute to play. We will have to go with what we are advised by the specialist on Kieran.
“It may be a possibility that we don’t see him again this season. That would not be ideal, with what we have got in front of us, but that may be the case.
“He has played through the pain for quite a while but it’s got to the point where he is just in too much pain. We’ll see what the consultant says and take it from there.”
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