When a new man comes in, there’s always winners and losers when it comes to the starting XI. Even though Neil Lennon said he would not tamper with things too much, he has certainly put his own mark on the team with personnel changes.
The biggest and most obvious losers have been the loan bhoys Oli Burke, Timo Weah and Jeremy Toljan who have not managed many games between them under Lennon since the end of February.
However, there’s one man who looks to have benefited immensely from Lennon’s return to the club – Jozo Simunovic.
The Croatian has started the last five games alongside Kristoffer Ajer because of injuries to Dedryck Boyata and Filip Benkovic but because Jozo has been stepping up to the mark for the bhoys he’s now keeping Benkovic out the side.
Speaking about his rejuvenation under Neil Lennon, the defender is very positive about the future.
“I’m feeling good. I always think that when a new manager comes it brings something new. Something positive or some changes.” Jozo told RecordSport.
“The manager has brought that. For me and for some other players here as well.”
Jozo looked destined for the scrap heap in the summer but now has staked his claim for a first-team place once Boyata and Benkovic have both left the building.
We sometimes forget that Jozo is only 24, he has been around a while and he’s a big lad. If he can manage to stay injury free could he be our new top defender?
He might have changed Bozo’s career but he’s certainly changed the teams outlook. They are stuttering and stammering and has the fans biting nails. If we don’t get a result at Pittodrie then everything will have turned topsy turvy and will probably come down to a make or break day against Hearts on the last day. Ridiculous as it may have been when Lennon took over the fact is it’s a distinct possibility we may fall over the cliff. It was a huge backward step Peter Lawwell took by re-employing Lennon and the biggest mistake he has made in his career in my opinion.