Neil Lennon has fired back at Olivier Kapo’s claims that Celtic back-tracked on his contract and that Lennon doesn’t have the authority to hire and fire.
The former Wigan and Birmingham winger joined Celtic on a short term deal in November but was released on January 10 after two brief appearances at the club.
An agreement was drafted to give the 30-year-old an 18 month contract but with concerns over his fitness Lennon offered a deal till the end of the season which was angrily rejected.
Lennon explained: “We couldn’t give him a contract on 30 minutes of football, not on the money he was after but we were quite prepared to extend his agreement to the end of the season until he proved his fitness.
“There is no doubting his talent – but he didn’t do enough to warrant what he wanted.
“I couldn’t go to the board and say I want this guy to have a one-year, two-year, 18-month contract, based on 30 minutes of football.
“I’d have everybody knocking on the door if that was the case.”
The Celtic boss added: “He hadn’t proved his fitness. He played in a reserve game and lasted a half, then he played in the first team and lasted 30 minutes. There was no way I could justify that to anybody.”
Kapo’s claim that the decision on his contract was made above Lennon’s head brought a short, sharp reply.
“It’s rubbish, absolute nonsense,” Lennon responded.
“We did have an agreement in place. He then changed his mind and said he’d take it. Then he changed his mind again and said No. I wish he had come to me before making that public.”
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