Neil Lennon has put Mark Hateley in his place after the Rangers legend claimed that this season’s SPL title will be tainted due to the administration of his former club.
The former England star, whose transfer to Ibrox from Monaco in 1990 was the subject of a tax probe, accused Mr Lennon and Mr Peter Lawwell of dancing on Rangers grave with inflammatory comments about the crisis at Ibrox.
“Mark’s brought this up two weeks after we’ve done the interviews, so why he’s bringing it up now,” the Celtic boss asked. “I don’t know. I find it embarrassing.
“It caused a lot of amusement among us. At the end of last season I said there were a lot of people outside the game who don’t put anything constructive into it. It’s just take, take, take. And Mark, I’d put into that bracket.
“I don’t know where he’s coming from with his comments about us dancing on Rangers’ grave. That is completely misconstrued.
“In his opening paragraph he basically says ‘I don’t care what you think, but your title’s tainted’. To me that’s disrespectful and inflammatory to the supporters of this club, the club itself and certainly my players. Basically it’s just pub talk. Someone in his position should know better.
“So if anybody’s being inflammatory about the whole situation it’s him.
“We’d still be well clear without Rangers being in administration and the ten-point penalty.
“Hateley is someone who has played the game and should know the game.
“We’ve never mentioned dancing on Rangers’ grave at all. We haven’t taken a gloating theme to it.”
Lennon added: “He’s using the words dignity and class- well Rangers are the ones under investigation. They’re the ones who the police have been called in to look at.
“We’ve done nothing wrong. We’ve played the game on the pitch as honestly as we can and off the pitch we do our business properly. It was a cheap shot from Hateley.
“Our fans won’t take a blind bit of notice of what Mark says or thinks. And neither will we.”
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I love Neil Lennon nothing more to add to that.
YES agree with last post but have a wee bit to add.its now clear for the world to see. ger`s past and present don`t do dignity.don`t do tax`s. roll on the SLOW DEATH of the most vile club in world football.no one like`s you NOW you care.G.I.R.U.Y
Hateley………. You are an illiterate hillbilly. That is all!
Well said Neil Lennon.There are plenty of ex pros and journos like Hateley in Scotland, they never pay their way when it comes to watching the game, they do nothing for kids football unless there’s a camera about and then they go in their papers and on their phone ins to tell us all what is wrong with the game.
Well if you want the game to improve then put something back into it !!
Has Hately found his medals yet……?
Hately has embarrassed himself, using words like tainted, dignity and class??!!! What a dummy, his club is being exposed daily as the most tainted, classless, undignified club and support in Europe!
Police, bailiffs, court cases, multiple investigations, tax evasion, corruption, bigotry being spewed weekly, fans standing trial for the attempted murder of their rivals manager, an entire support that stood by and watched their club sink in front of them without so much as a whimper, the list is endless, this man is pathetic.
Pay absolutely no attention to this sad and useless old duffer. I’m surprised he managed to write more than one sentence judging by the way he comments on ESPN. John Collins nearly always has to bail him out of his usual slobbering rants trying to sound analytical. I suspect it was written for him by one of the usual ‘Daily broken Recurd’ hacks and asked to agree to its inclusion! Dhaaaa!
Why even waste time on such a waste of space as hately?
He had to make a career on his dads coat-tails. Tony Hately must be ashamed of the insignificant clown. He probably also pocketed tax free cash. Not worth the words really.
ha ha great to see them resolving to incoherent crap when theyre hurting.
like most gers and his club, this man has bn reduced to a jibbering wreck
(Lennon added: “He’s using the words dignity and class- well Rangers are the ones under investigation. They’re the ones who the police have been called in to look at.)
Brilliant Neil and so true LOL says it all
Obviously Hateley is hurting. Like any hurting supporter he is stupidly trying to blame anyone but the club and its rotten history.
There are many Rangers fans in the same position, they are trying to defend the indefensible. What we really must question are the motives of the individual who sanctioned such a rant for publication.
Can you imagine, if the shoe was on the other foot, Big Billy being allowed to say such things against Rangers in their horrible rag.
No chance. The Record is seething that its team are being exposed as the scummiest, most immoral and down-right vile institution in world football. They have backed this mob unstintingly for decades and the fawning nature of their coverage during Murray’s tenure has been embarrassing and a disgrace to journalism (‘succulent lamb’ anyone!)
Hateley also has another reason for putting his name to this tripe, as do many others at the Record’s offices. Their jobs are on the line. These guys have been Ranger’s bitches for years. They have paid the mortgage by hanging on Murray’s every word and by giving every Rangers manager a really easy time. If they go under their jobs are gone. Even if they survive they are broken for ever, they are always going to be remembered as cheats and no Celtic or other clubs fans should ever let them forget it.
They are heading for a long spell in the shadow of Celtic and that means less jobs for the boys. Not only are these guys hurting because it is their team, they are crapping themselves because it is their jobs.
The mainstream press is cutting back severely and if Rangers are a spent force for the best part of a decade the rags will not spend cash sending a tribe of reporters to cover their poorly attended games, whether in the SPL or the lower divisions.
Where are they going to go? Judging by the noises coming out of Celtic Park, and for once I am very happy with the people in charge, very long memories exist.
The snidey, biased reporting they have published over the past three decades at least will be remembered by all associated with Celtic and as we are the major sports news in Scotland many of these retards will find themselves on the margins (bye,bye Keevins, Traynor, King, etc etc).
Succulent lamb is not on the Walfrid’s menu, not for you any way.
Even bill leckie rips the big tube and he’s a bitter William hail hail