We’ve been reporting on Paul Lambert’s view on the situation at Celtic this season regularly throughout the season when Neil Lennon was being pushed to leave the club.
It’s been clear to me Paul has an issue with a large element of the Celtic support and how they went about getting the manager removed from his position.
The former midfielder even phoned up one of his former Celtic teammates who dared speak out about Neil Lennon losing his job just back in January. Lambert knows all about the circus in Glasgow and he gets it spot on in his description of feelings on second place.
The Champions League winner has ruled himself out of ever managing Celtic – scared to undo the great memories he made at the club during his playing days.
To be honest, it speaks more to Paul’s clear lack of confidence in his own ability to manage a club like Celtic.
He rules himself out but he was never in the running and has not shown enough to be treated as a serious contender in the first place.
“I played for eight years, but I left the Glasgow scene a long time ago,” he told Sky Sports News.
“That’s not my life anymore. I don’t want to tarnish the good feelings I have with the Celtic fans.
“We won a hell of a lot, stopping Rangers winning Ten In A Row in 1998. That was an incredible achievement.
“Maybe I’ll go back as a fan, that’s all I can say.”
“You have to realise, if you finish second, you fail,” he said. “You have to get trophies back and get the pendulum swinging back your way.
“Nine years of dominance – they have to get that back. It doesn’t matter who the next Celtic manager is.
“Whether it’s a foreign manager or a British guy, you’re hoping whoever goes in there understands how to win every week.
“Not to finish second. Not to be runners-up in cup finals. The criticism would come heavily, and so it should.
“It’s a worldwide club. It’s not a small club where you might get away with losing three and drawing two. You have to win every single week. That’s on whoever comes in.”
Paul was a fantastic player for Celtic but he did get handed a bumper contract by Martin O’Neill which saw the treble winning star get paid a lot more than he should have in the latter part of his Celtic career. Lambert one of the reasons Peter Lawwell gave managers very little autonomy when it came to negotiations thereafter.
