Celtic fans will appreciate Alex Neil’s honest admission about English snobbery

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Celtic’s achievements have long been downplayed in England – though former Hamilton and Norwich City boss Alex Neil insists this is unfair.

With Alex Neil dividing his managerial career between the Scottish and English leagues, he is well placed to question the dismissive attitudes towards the game north of the border, the Daily Record reports

Accusations that Celtic merely have to turn up to win the title must surely rankle among supporters who have watched Brendan Rodgers’ side play at their very peak throughout the campaign. Sure, The Bhoys sealed the league title in the first week of April and are currently 24 points clear of second placed Aberdeen but that does not mean their achievement should be in any way downplayed.

After all, with the intensity dropping off slightly after a sixth straight Scottish Premiership crown was secured, Celtic have won just one of their last three matches.

And Neil, who began his managerial career with Hamilton Academical in 2013, believes there is a certain degree of snobbery towards the Scottish game from commentators down south.

“Yeah without doubt I don’t think there’s any question about that,” the former Norwich City boss told the Daily Record when asked whether the Scottish Premiership is seen as a ‘pub league’ in England.

“It was like that when I was a player and it’s just as bad as a manager.

“Even talking about going out and scouting in Scotland, some will say don’t bother. They won’t even bother coming up and looking at the talent.”

The relentless, week on week victories enjoyed by Rodgers’ champions may have only enhanced a belief among some that the Scottish league is not even worth paying attention to.

But there is clearly plenty of talent there. After all, Celtic appear to be almost unchallenged when entering the market for a highly-rated local prospect. Surely a number of English clubs should be looking at the likes of Stuart Armstrong, evolving into a Scotland international during his time at Celtic, and realise that the league is full of bright young things in need of an opportunity.