NEIL LENNON is facing a nightmare week as he is forced to self-isolate for 10 days following the Covid-19 fall-out at Celtic.
The Hoops boss and assistant John Kennedy are effectively banned from the club along with 13 players who will also be in quarantine following Christopher Jullien’s positive test for the virus upon the squad’s return from the trip to Dubai on Friday.
Lennon was missing from his usual beat on the touchline last night as the champions squandered two more points in the 1-1 draw with Hibs at Parkhead where a stoppage-time equaliser from Kevin Nisbet wiped out a superb free-kick goal from David Turnbull.
First-team coach Gavin Strachan, who joined the club in the summer as Damien Duff’s replacement, took charge of a makeshift line-up that saw American teenager Cameron Harper make his debut in a side without a recognised striker with Odsonne Edouard, Leigh Griffiths, Albian Ajeti and Patryk Klimala ruled out.
The stand-in boss, son of former Hoops gaffer Gordon, relayed messages from Lennon who was forced to watch the action from home.
It will be an identical scenario on Saturday when Livingston arrive in the east end of Glasgow where they narrowly lost 3-2 earlier in the campaign.
And Dundee United manager Micky Mellon insisted the next week will be an absolute nightmare for Lennon.
The Tannadice chief was in a similar position earlier in the season when his entire coaching staff had to self-isolate after an outbreak at the Tayside outfit.
And Mellon, who missed the Livingston game in December, told the Daily Record: “I can only speak about things from a distance. It is hard work.
“You are watching games and there are 30 second delays on (match) feeds, it is a nightmare. You are very, very detached from it.
“I made the decision that I couldn’t really affect it and pretty much stayed away from it to let the people who could affect things get on with it. That is the big thing I learned because you can’t really impact or influence things.
“It is tough and it will be the same for Neil.
“it was new to me and I hope that I don’t have to go through it again.”
TURNBULL CLASSIC, THEN LATE AGONY FOR HOOPS
