Neil Lennon hasn’t forgotten the ignorance that ITV showed Celtic when the draw was made for the group stage of the Champions League.
‘Bye-bye Celtic’ they tweeted when Lennon’s side was paired with Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow. Hopefully the banter master was a Chelsea or Manchester City fan.
Tonight ITV will beam the Celtic v Juventus match across the UK and beyond and give the match the same attention that Real Madrid v Manchester United will attract.
The English audience has grown to acknowledge the performances of Fraser Forster, Victor Wanyama and others. Roy Hodgson is expected to be in attendance watching Gary Hooper.
Celtic’s image has changed remarkably over the course of the season with Lennon’s side doing their talking on the park while others howl at the moon for attention.
“The ITV thing- that was just a cheap shot,” the Celtic boss stated. “It was born out of ignorance and that is something we have had to put up with now for a long time.
“Have we changed perceptions? I think the mainstream down south have been very encouraging towards us. There has been a bit more respect and we have got better coverage.
“At first we were sort of seen as a novelty in the Champions League, but people now see us as a pretty serious team and club.
“They talk down about the SPL as well. Sure we are 18 points clear, but look at England, Germany and Spain and there is only one team going to win those leagues as well and they are allegedly the three biggest leagues in Europe.”
CLICK HERE for Buffon’s warning to Forster
Follow Video Celts on Twitter and Facebook
Itv are amateurish and narrow minded in their coverage of football. They never embrace any of the competitions that they cover except the EPL.
I am sick to death of hearing their inept commentators and pundits continuously referring to the EPL during games which have nothing to do with “little Engerlund”. The African cup of nations was a classic case. Every time Moses touched the.ball it was the “Chelsea man” but not once did I hear them say Emenike the Spartak man or Ambrose the Celtic man.
I suppose Neil’s right, once they loose their ignorance and get educated they then might be taken a bit More seriously but until then by all means watch games on itv but like I will do from now on WITH THE SOUND TURNED OFF. Hail hail
ITV and STV are an embarrassment to tv. They are so superficial and lazy when it comes to any real input or research on clubs and analysis. A bit like the Daily Rectum really!
neil lennon made the mistake tonight by playing ambrose,played in a massive final on sunday, 48 hours after playng he plays here in a massive game,between a time change, flying thousands of miles, everyone could see he shouldnt have been there, caused 2 goals, missed a sitter and played him for 90 mins, no other manager on the history of celtic would get away with this