NEIL LENNON has survived the axe at Celtic – after club supremo Dermot Desmond backed the manager against the unruly mob who descended on Parkhead on Sunday night.
The Irish multi-billionaire was no incensed by the disgraceful actions of a section of fans as they stormed the ground following the shock Betfred League Cup exit against Ross County that he shunned their furious calls to sack the under-pressure team boss.
Instead, Desmond, the club’s majority shareholder, will support Lennon – for the time being.
The Hoops gaffer has come in for some fierce criticism in recent months with the teams failing to hit the heights of previous campaigns.
They have gone out of the Champions League, Europa League and League Cup over a three-month period and have slumped to 11 points behind Steven Gerrard’s Ibrox side in their pursuit of a historic tenth successive title, although they have two crucial games in hand.
The champions have won only two of their last 10 games while shipping an unacceptable 23 in the process.
But Lennon dodged an immediate bullet after a lengthy Zoom meeting after training yesterday after no-nonsense talks took place among the principal players at the club, Desmon, Lennon and chief executive Peter Lawwell, as CQN reported.
The manager has been given the chance to turn things around, starting against AC Milan in the meaningless Euro tie in the San Siro on Thursday evening.
Desmond’s decision was swayed following his reaction to the violent protest by a raging gathering which saw clashes with police after the team crashed to their first defeat in 36 domestic Cup-ties after winning the trophy in the previous four years.
Lennon and his players needed to be given an escort by cops to leave the stadium and that was a major reason behind the tycoon’s decision to keep the team boss in place, according to a report in the Daily Record.
The gaffer took training at Lennoxtown yesterday before the visit to Milan, but he knows things MUST improve if he is to remain in the role.
The European adventure has gone for the season, but it is imperative the team get three points from the Premiership meeting with St Johnstone at Parkhead on Sunday afternoon.
There are a string of vitally important encounters ahead before the turn of the year, including the delayed Scottish Cup Final against Hearts at Hampden on December 20 where the club can complete a phenomenal quadruple treble.
