Celtic could be 22 points behind Rangers before their next fixture
Chris Sutton believes now is not the time for Celtic to get rid of Neil Lennon.
Celtic are currently in Dubai after their 1-0 defeat against Rangers on Saturday.
That result left their 10-in-a-row dreams hanging by a thread, with the champions now 19 points behind their rivals in the title race.
Protests outside the ground in late November and early December saw fans calling for Lennon’s dismissal, but a run of four successive league wins and success in the 2019/20 Scottish Cup Final saw some of the pressure ease.
The mood has become despondent again, however, following events at Ibrox. Despite dominating the opening 45 minutes, Celtic were unable to make a breakthrough and left empty-handed thanks to Callum McGregor’s own goal.
Sutton, who scored 86 goals in 199 appearances for Celtic, believes it would be “odd” to get rid of Lennon at this point.
Writing in Record Sport, Sutton said: “Neil Lennon’s got the board’s full backing at the club’s AGM.
“If they were to now sack him on the back of the Old Firm defeat at Ibrox, I would find it extremely odd.
“Celtic have gone out of both the Champions League and Europa League this season, they have gone out of the Betfred Cup and the title race is now over within two days of January.
“It’s not a good look. And I fully accept that’s a situation which should really mean it’s the end of the road for any manager at Parkhead.
“My reasoning behind saying it would be odd is all about timing.
“I made no secret of the fact that I thought Neil was fortunate to keep his job on the back of the Ross County loss in the Betfred which added to the two Euro exits with the title already looking like it was lost.
“I said so publicly. I didn’t think he would survive and I wouldn’t have had any qualms had the board pulled the trigger at that point.
“The fact they did not is what makes the dynamic of the situation right at this moment in time very interesting.”
After noting that chief executive Peter Lawwell’s backing of Lennon at the club’s AGM came before the recent turnaround in results, Sutton highlighted Celtic’s dominance during the New Year derby.
He added: “Now I’m not naive. I know none of that really matters in the cold light of day. Celtic lost and that is the bottom line.
“But my point is that, if the board thought Neil was still the right man for the job after the (Ross) County debacle with supporters protesting outside of the stadium, how can that really have changed in the light of the performance at Ibrox?”
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