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CHARLIE NICHOLAS has delivered a brutally honest verdict on Neil Lennon’s future, insisting that the Celtic boss must be REMOVED.
Nic, the former Hoops forward, says Lenny never earned the right to coach and admits he has little sympathy for the Northern Irishman.
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Despite Sunday’s crushing Betfred Cup loss to Ross County, SunSport understands that Lennon has received a stay of execution by the Parkhead board.
Angry fans demanded action during an irate protest outside the stadium after the final whistle, but it is believed he still has the support of majority shareholder Dermot Desmond and CEO Peter Lawwell.
But Nicholas, who angered Lennon in October when he accused Celtic of being tight-fisted in the summer transfer window, has taken on the Hoops board and says Lennon’s position is now untenable.
In a forceful column in the Daily Express, Nicholas criticized: “I have to follow my instincts and that tells me that Neil Lennon’s time as Celtic manager is over.
“His talk over the last eight weeks has been lousy and his choice of players and formation, or the lack of it at times, has been exactly the same.
“Neil is a lucky boy who has had the privilege of managing Celtic twice.
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“The first time, he didn’t earn it. He got it because Tony Mowbray was fired.
“Mowbray had made promises by the Celtic board, which is also under scrutiny now, and he broke them.
“That board did not deliver and then turned to Lenny, ironically after a loss in Ross County.
“He did a good job and pulled them out and ran to nine in a row, but it was never the most demanding job in the world.
“Also, when Neil came back, he didn’t earn the right to become Celtic coach.
“Neil is an old-fashioned, Martin O’Neill-style coach who lets his coaches get on with things. The problem that’s been growing for me, and I’ve said it before, is cheapness and the way that Celtic to do the things.
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“It seems to be more relevant to the board and the controllers because they accept people like Nicky Hammond.
“Nicky is just a glorified buyer for Peter Lawwell. He sends a list of players and Peter tells him which of them can afford.
“Then they go to the manager, but even then they don’t always get what they want.
“I go back to Mowbray, who wanted to make his own decisions, but the board wouldn’t let him.
“So I would say that even though the whole board was stingy about Ronny Deila’s appointment, all they did was turn the corner, paying a lot of money for Brendan Rodgers.
Then when Brendan decided to go to Leicester, Celtic were in a position.
‘SENSE ANGER’ Stubbs talks about the ‘volatile’ atmosphere as he opens up about Celtic Park scenes that left fans begging for Lennon’s ax
“Lennon was conveniently available to return.
“The problem for him was that he was not in a strong position when he was offered the position.
“The Celtic board knew that he would be desperate for the position and would not debate things too much. It was the easy option.
“I would accept it being imposed on Hammond in the same way that John Kennedy and Gavin Strachan did.
“He also accepted the trades when I told him a few weeks ago that they were the wrong players for his system.
“What I said was correct. I know I won’t get an apology for that, but he had been choosing the wrong formation for most of the year.
“He went back three after they lost to Rangers. But Celtic didn’t win the league, they handed it over to Rangers.
“I have very little sympathy for Neil because he has caused his own problems.
“Their own weakness at Celtic has now left them in this untenable position.”
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