After winning nine consecutive Scottish Premiership titles, at the start of the 2020-21 season, Celtic were aiming to become the first club to win the elusive tenth in a row. On the back of winning four consecutive domestic trebles, there was every reason for fans to be confident – their team was the clear favourite to accomplish another clean sweep of silverware.
Fast-forward to the start of February 2021 and the final stretch of the campaign, Celtic are nowhere near achieving what the odds and probabilities had predicted. They were the outright favourites to win all the domestic Scottish competitions, the darling of online betting markets for another year of glory, yet now all that’s left to aim for is the Scottish Cup.
Meanwhile, such a torrid season on the pitch has inevitably had repercussions off the pitch, following the announcement that Peter Lawwell is retiring as Celtic CEO. He will depart for good in June at the end of the season, having been the figurehead for the last 17 years, overseeing one of the most successful periods in the club’s history.
Neil Lennon believes that teams like Liverpool and Celtic are struggling because their vociferous fans aren’t able to roar on the playershttps://t.co/gzv7hLdZcV pic.twitter.com/rXBpZPe6Ju
— Liverpool FC News (@LivEchoLFC) January 27, 2021
They always say that a new brush sweeps clean, and with the appointment of Dominic McKay as the next CEO, that seems highly likely. It also raises the question of whether Neil Lennon will still be Celtic manager heading into the 2021-22 season, after what has turned into such a dismal season for the team.
While it’s always easy to find scapegoats when the team is performing below expectations, there are also plenty of arguments for keeping Lennon at the helm. During his first tenure between March 2010 and May 2014, before departing for spells at Bolton Wanderers and Hibernian, the man from Lurgan achieved an impressive 70.04 win percentage.
Since returning in February 2019 after Brendan Rodgers headed south for the Leicester City job, Lennon has accumulated an even more impressive 71.29 win percentage. Only two managers have rated higher. They were legendary Jock Stein at 70.19 between March 1965 and August 1978, followed by Martin O’Neill with 75.53 between June 2000 and May 2005.
Frank Lampard is now in contention to replace Neil Lennon as Celtic managerhttps://t.co/YKGQYtJ4o7
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) January 25, 2021
Purely from the statistical standpoint of games won, Lennon remains one of the most successful managers in Celtic history. The frustrations of the current season will undoubtedly be a black mark on his CV, yet the next CEO will need to ask himself one important question before making any changes. Would a different manager do any better?
We all know that modern football is a results-oriented business, with little time for empathy towards a loyal club servant when things aren’t going to plan. The ruthless ousting of Frank Lampard at Chelsea is a testament to that, although Celtic don’t have the same luxury of seemingly limitless funds to back any changes they may desire.
Lennon will certainly be feeling the pressure at the end of the season, especially if his team are without any trophies. There will inevitably be pressure from fans to replace him with someone else, which means that McKay may have some tough decisions to make immediately after his arrival. Hopefully, any decisions will be taken with calm consideration.