Neil Lennon has hit back at Kris Boyd’s claim that there are no great players in Scotland.
The Sky Sports pundit made the comment on Sunday after being dragged to Dingwall for Celtic’s 12.15 kick off against Ross County.
Everyone knows that EPL clubs start every season with a £100m bonus from Boyd’s employers but on the resources they have Celtic more than punch their weight.
Neil Lennon’s side are doing much better than Arsenal and Manchester United in the Europa League while 50% of the Liverpool defence was playing in Scotland five years ago.
Boyd’s career flopped badly outside of Scotland with Lennon not slow to hit the target when asked about the comments of the former Kilmarnock striker.
Responding to the comments The Sun reports:
McGinn already is doing that. McGregor would, so would James Forrest. Andrew Robertson is a great player who was playing in Scotland three or four years ago. For me it’s folly and doesn’t make sense to say these things.
I get that pundits like Kris Boyd have to be controversial and make these sort of statements, but it doesn’t wash with me. We have to talk up the game here, not talk it down.
We had Van Dijk, and can we go and create more great players along the way? Of course we can. I think it’s an idiotic statement to make. Give me £50m and I’ll bring in a load of players here and we’ll see what we can do with them.
The standard of player in Scotland compared to England is always open for debate, but Lennon added: “You have to use your own eyes.
What do you think of these guys here, and could they go and play in the Premier League? I think so. It’s not up to me to talk the game up. It’s up to me to put a team out to win games and try to make inroads in Europe and let other people decide what they think.
Whether it’s petty jealousy or something? I don’t know. I don’t know what Kris’ mode of thinking is making a statement like that. For us to say they are great players, do they have to go and play in England? I think they will be great players anywhere.
Henrik was always a great player, but people in England were saying: ‘Oh, he can’t do it here’. We are listening to the noise about Scottish football not being this or not being that but everybody could see every week how good Henrik was.”
From next season Sky Sports will have exclusive coverage of SPFL football and are expected to freshen up their squad of pundits.
