Former Celtic manager and captain Neil Lennon provided commentary for tonight’s 7-1 defeat against Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park for TNT Sports.
The Irishman remained defiant, insisting that fellow countryman Brendan Rodgers was not at fault for the defeat, instead pointing to the poor performances of the Celtic players in the match.
Lennon said: (TNT Sports), “I’m sorry, you can’t do that at this level. It’s a tough watch, really tough.
“These players have brought a lot of enjoyment but this is a real sore one. It can’t all be on the manager.”
Lennon is ultimately correct; Rodgers cannot be praised for his domestic attacking displays and then criticised for employing the same style in Europe.
It could be argued that a compromise between an all-out approach and a more defensive style would be more suitable against formidable opponents like Dortmund.
However, at 5-1 down at half-time, there was little Rodgers could realistically do to alter the course of the game during the break.
Having successfully managed Celtic in the Champions League, Lennon is undoubtedly more qualified than most to assess who should be held accountable for tonight’s result.
Rodgers will undoubtedly face criticism for Celtic’s defensive vulnerabilities, but against such a clinical Dortmund side, it was a challenge that the Hoops have not encountered yet this season.
Never expected our midfield to get totally steamrolled in the manner that it was tonight?
When you get the basics so badly wrong as we did, with giving the ball away in the manner that we did, and in such dangerous areas also, we got well and truly punished for doing so?
Again we were totally out thought tactically and didn’t expect ourselves to be as exposed as we were, but good teams will do that to ourselves, especially when we were nowhere near to our capabilities as a team?
Yet we can’t allow 1 poor performance define ourselves as a team either, very bad night at the office all the same?
Let’s face it, Celtic’s defence is fine at domestic level but utterly inadquate at European level against top teams. In addition to this, the team just didn’t perform well. The mindset was all wrong. For me, they went out on that park expecting to be beaten by a superior side and then proceeded to crumble. It was a shocker and yet another reality check for the fans.
But let’s face it, Celtic and other teams on their level have been financially suppressed by the powers that be for decades. European football now is about generating ridiculous amounts of money for a handful of elite clubs, against whom the deprived can never hope to compete. It’s all about wealth creation for some by stacking the odds against the rest. Still, 7-1 is a disgrace and the team are responsible for that humiliation.
No Brendan Rogers is to blame for that Annihilation. He picked the team & tactics. Never changed it for the second half. I am not talking about the subs he made as far as I am concerned they should have been on the park at the first whistle. Disgraceful result, but we move on and hopefully can set up better to face Atalana. I won’t hold by breath.