Neil Lennon has opened up on how a perceived snub in the media and Rangers being tipped as favourites had wound him up before a September Derby at Ibrox in 2019.
The former Celtic boss revealed that in the build-up to the derby, the focus in the tabloids was heavily on Steven Gerrard and his Rangers side, with Celtic’s credentials being largely dismissed. What irked Lennon most, though, was his complete exclusion from the pre-match coverage.
“Rangers were billed as the favourites. I was so f****** annoyed,” he said on Open Goal. “It was personal, you know. I’m looking at the previews and there’s no picture of me at all – and that f****** p***** me off.”
Lennon’s fury translated into sharp focus for his squad, and Celtic responded with a dominant display that silenced the noise. They ended Rangers’ 12-game unbeaten run with a composed and clinical 2-0 win, moving three points clear at the top of the Premiership.
Odsonne Edouard opened the scoring on the half-hour mark after a tidy strike, running from the left and hitting the bottom right corner, and Jonny Hayes sealed it with a stoppage-time finish. Jordan Jones was sent off late on to compound Rangers’ frustration.
Celtic’s makeshift defence – featuring Nir Bitton at centre-back, Bolingoli at left-back, and El Hamed on the right – stood up to the challenge brilliantly. And for Lennon, the result was about more than just three points.
“We beat Stockholm 4-0 on the Thursday night and then we come to Ibrox. I said, ‘Right, here’s what we’re going to do.’ We kicked into the corner and they didn’t get out of their own half for about 20 minutes,” Lennon explained. “Eddie scored, we bossed it and won 2-0. That was vindication.”
