Neil Lennon has spoken about a malaise inside the Celtic squad.
The hoops boss was speaking straight after the defeat from Sparta Prague in an interview held back 24 hours by the daily newspapers.
Since the defeat from Sparta, Social Media has been brutal with no-one spared with Celtic’s season on the brink of imploding.
One win in six matches with three consecutive home defeats barely tells the story of heartless performances from a squad of players that delivered spectacularly from an adverse position at the turn of the year.
Formations change, some players are rotated but regardless of who is on the park the performances are flat with little sign of purpose or shape.
Against Sparta Prague Ryan Christie played in three different positions with the efficiency and purpose of the Czechs contrasting vividly with their opponents.
As a one off it would be a concern, a fourth home defeat by the start of November is much more serious with Lennon bringing up a word that is fatal in any circumstances- malaise.
The Scotsman reports:
Lennon confessed to concerns the current crop at Celtic have lost a degree of humility on the back of 11 straight domestic honours, which they have the opportunity to turn into a quadruple treble in December’s Scottish Cup final against Hearts.
“I touched it on it after [the Champions League qualifier was lost to] Ferencvaros, so we need to get that back and that’s down to the individual. I’ve got to cut the malaise. It’s my job to nip it in the bud. And maybe became that little bit tougher on them now. To get some response for them. A proper response.
“So we need to have a real good look at it and I need to change the culture. Maybe getting a little bit harder on them might be the way forward. But then you can get criticised for that. Ultimately, they are professional footballers and the reputation of the club is important. If they fall below that standard, then they need reminding of their responsibilities.”
Malaise is a phrase that could be used throughout the club with CEO Peter Lawwell in post for 17 years backed by a very conservative board led by Ian Bankier who has been chairman since 2011.
Lennon’s next media appearances will be for Sky Sports and Radio Scotland in the build up to Sunday’s match at Motherwell.