Lennon: Blame me
Five days on from the praise of their boss in Barcelona the Celtic squad experienced the other side of the Irishman.
While taking responsibility for the performance Lennon has enough options to ring the changes with the return clash with Barcelona ten days away.
“It was my fault, I picked the team,” the Celtic boss stated. “I am not blaming the players for that. I thought we had a strong team, it looked good on paper but there was no fluidity.
“There was a malaise about the team that I did not like at all. It was too passive, there was no intensity to our play and we got what we deserved without Kilmarnock having to do that much.
“The first goal was a shambles and the second goal was just poor defending. It is a dose of reality, we came down to earth with a bump.”
Lennon added: “We gave two goals away without Kilmarnock really having to work for it.
We had good players out of the pitch, but there was no urgency or tempo to our game. We made life very comfortable for Kilmarnock.
“It’s like we were out for a testimonial in the first half. We weren’t turning them or stretching them.
“I don’t recall a real 50-50 in the game when there was a real desperation for us to get the ball back or move with any real intent.”
Celtic face St Johnstone for a semi-final place in the League Cup on Tuesday with Lennon set to make more changes.
He added: “We have been to two finals and I would like to go again. We will need a better performance than we turned in at McDiarmid Park. We want to progress so I will put out a strong team.
“Saints are playing with great spirit, great team ethic and a lot of confidence. They are dangerous with Gregory Tade and Nigel Hasselbaink doing very well, backed up by Rowan Vine.
“Steve Lomas is a strong character who knows what he wants to do in the game. It is great exposure for him.”
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