Lennon returns to the scene of ‘most distasteful episode of all’

michael grant

1 Oct 2011

IF Hearts fulfil their obligation to protect the visiting Celtic manager at Tynecastle tomorrow – which was more than they could manage the last time he was there – Neil Lennon could be surrounded by so many police and stewards he’ll have to jump to see the football.

May 11 will hang over what happens when Hearts face Celtic in a fixture which really shouldn’t need any additional baggage. That was the night a Hearts fan leapt out of their main stand and jumped at Lennon, swinging an arm. An Edinburgh Sheriff Court jury found that it was “not proven” that John Wilson had carried out a sectarian attack on Lennon, although the country at large was pretty sure of what it saw that night.

The fall-out will create visual impact at Tynecastle tomorrow – “clear zones” between the two sets of fans, the sight of police and yellow-jacketed-stewards around the dug-outs – which in itself will influence the atmosphere and act as an unwanted stimulant. Both sets of supporters will be more keyed up for this one than would usually be the case for a lunchtime kick-off.

The irony about Lennon being attacked at Tynecastle is that the place is one of his favourite grounds, even if he got so wound up there last November he was sent to the stand for angry reactions to Joe Ledley being sent-off and a Hearts handball being missed during a 2-0 Celtic defeat. Even now, when he would be entitled to be cold towards that stadium, he speaks warmly. Tynecastle’s energy, rawness and intensity are right up Lennon’s street, even if the sentiments expressed do not chime with his own. “I like Tynecastle,” he said. “Well, when it spills over into that [what happened last time] then you don’t enjoy it, but you always like a tense atmosphere and you like it crackling, but when it boils over into something far more distasteful then you do tend not to enjoy that.”

Lennon has had his share of off-field distress during his life as a Celtic player and manager, but yesterday he was asked if Tynecastle had been the first time he had felt in actual danger while at his work. It was. “Endangered, annoyed, upset and angry. You get angry at football things, but that was nothing to do with football. That was the one incident out of them all that annoyed me the most.”

There were parcel bombs, bullets in the post and vile threats on websites for Lennon to deal with last season and after all that the Tynecastle episode felt like a grotesque culmination. Lennon said at the time, and repeated yesterday, that he felt it was a tipping point. “I’d like to think so. I think everyone had just about had enough of the adverse publicity the game was getting up here. That was the most distasteful episode of the lot.

“I think we’re past that stage now. Things have calmed down this season. There’s been no major controversy so far to stir up the pot, but as a manager you don’t like to think you would be placed in that sort of situation again.”

There is something about that night that Lennon would happily see repeated. Celtic were under pressure to win in May and they did, comfortably. Gary Hooper scored twice and Kris Commons once in a 3-0 win which ensured the league would be decided on the final day of the season. Celtic have won four out of five matches against Hearts under Lennon, but the pressure to improve that sequence will grow if Rangers beat Hibernian this afternoon. The gap at the top would then be 10 points. Celtic would have two games in hand, but plenty of work to do.

“The Udinese game was pleasing performance and I’m looking for a similar intensity to our play, because it’s never easy going there – for Celtic or Rangers – and with the atmosphere being what it is it’s a good fixture,” Lennon said. “It’s always a decent fixture to play in and it’s a game we probably need to win.”

Ledley had a scan on a groin injury yesterday and is unlikely to be available. Scott Brown, Emilio Izaguirre, Cha Du-Ri and Commons are already out for Celtic, although the latter is back in training.

One player available to him – although plenty of Celtic supporters would wish that he was not – is Georgios Samaras. The maligned Greek was a late substitute against Udinese, but not late enough as far as Parkhead seemed to believe. When he misplaced a couple of passes there were instant, angry roars. Plenty of fans have had enough of Samaras.

“The best thing for him to do is to play through it. At times he is inconsistent, at the minute the crowd are on his back and it’s difficult to get through that. Sometimes it hurts, but he has to show the character to come back. For some people that stuff acts as an extra motivation to do well and silence the critics.

“I thought the fans were very quick to turn on him. He made one bad pass and they turned on him, but next time he was sprinting down the wing and crossing for Ki. That’s what he can do at times and he just needs to get more consistent with his play. He knows that himself.”

Unthinkable as it is now, Lennon once endured something similar himself. Memorably he was booed by Celtic supporters during a game against Boavista in 2003. “It’s very rare you go through your career here and don’t get criticised,” he said yesterday. “Players, managers, coaches. It’s a test of your temperament and character as well, but Georgios has not displayed any drop of the head. It’s not an easy place to be. You just have to keep working at it and I will keep using him when I feel I need to.”

Taken from the Herald