RUDI SPATCEL

NEIL LENNON was seething last night after insisting he was spat at by Rudi Skacel during Celtic's 3-0 drubbing at Hearts.

Lennon was booked by referee Alan Freeland for shoving Skacel to the ground in an off-the-ball flashpoint early in the second half of the Tynecastle clash.

But the Parkhead captain remained adamant last night he had only reacted after Skacel tried to gob on him.

Skacel was also booked moments later for chopping into Lennon from behind as a feud developed.

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan reacted by replacing livid Lennon with Stilian Petrov to save his skipper from a possible red card.

Lennon is declining to comment for now. But sources close to him insist the he was outraged by Skacel's behaviour and hopes the Czech may yet be probed by the SFA's video review panel.

Lennon believes that although TV evidence is inconclusive, at least one camera angle backs up his version of events.

Strachan said: "I took Neil off because I didn't want to take any chances with him after he got booked.

"It wasn't so much Neil but there may have been people round about him who were trying to take advantage. It would have been unfair to keep him on in that position."

Strachan then blasted his players for ignoring orders.

He revealed he had warned his side about the danger of Paul Hartley's free kicks.

But that warning went unheeded as the Hearts midfielder's first free kick produced an own goal from Stephen McManus.

And two minutes later Hartley, who may be a summer signing target for Strachan, curled home a second to leave Celtic shell shocked.

Strachan said: "I knew Hartley and Hearts would be good at free kicks and corners and we allowed them to get free kicks because we didn't deal with the ball when they played it forwards.

"The first goal was a bit of a freak because it was an ogbut the second was fantastic.

"Their free kicks gave us problems. Hartley played at a high tempo but he always does.

"It was an unusual game because we had two good chances in the first half that we didn't take. After their goals, we produced football the way we like it to be played.

"If you ask me whether Hearts deserved to win, then I would say yes. In saying that, Craig Gordon made three fantastic saves which I don't think he had to make the last time we were here.

"But we are disappointed, there's no doubt about it."

It wasn't all misery for Strachan as John Hartson revealed he would be staying at the club for another season.

Despite the good news, Celtic again looked sluggish, and the manager had to admit that some of his players had switched off since they claimed the championship.

Strachan said: "There is an unreal atmosphere about the place but I hope that I'm in the same position next year.

"It's been strange for the players because they haven't really known how to go about these last six games and they are real competitors.

"We gave them four days off last week and did OK against Rangers when we got a draw. This week training has been good but we end up getting beaten 3-0.

"I know what areas I'm going to strengthen and we'll be back with a better team next season.

"I'm glad John is staying. We don't want anyone to leave."

Taken from the Daily Record