THE last time VfB Stuttgart played at Parkhead was back in 2003 and Neil Lennon was in the Celtic team that won 3-1 in the first leg on their way to a 5-4 aggregate victory.
That evening all of 23 years ago – during the Glasgow side’s UEFA Cup journey to Seville – must have seemed a lifetime away for the former skipper and two-time manager when he watched his old team being dismantled 4-1 by the same opponents last night.
The only similarity was that Martin O’Neill was in the home dug-out.
Lennon pulled no punches as he observed: “It was totally underwhelming and a very passive performance from Celtic on a big European night.
IT TAKES A WORRIED MAN…Martin O’Neill looks glum as Celtic toil.
“They defended poorly all night. We were looking for a reaction at half-time, there was for five or 10 minutes, but then the third Stuttgart goal burst Celtic’s bubble.
“The players didn’t defend well and they were far too standoffish. That is not a Martin O’Neill team or a Martin O’Neill performance.
“Probably the most disappointed person inside the stadium will be the manager. I cannot believe the lack of passion and desire that Celtic showed.
“It was far too easy for Stuttgart.”
Lennon, speaking to TNT Sports, said: “Sometimes, the players have to get the fans going, and on this occasion they never did.
“I’m not saying the players didn’t try, but they lacked power, intensity and defensive capacity.
HEAD-SCRATCHER…Neil Lennon puzzled by “totally underwhelming” Celtic.
“Stuttgart also had a goal disallowed which was borderline, so you could have been looking at a 5-1 scoreline.
“There was no defensive diligence and then Kasper Schmeichel didn’t have one of his better nights in goal. What was in front of him was what disappointed me more than anything.
“Let’s be honest, Celtic are not getting back into this tie. If they play like they did, it could be even more. What’s more disappointing is the manner of the defeat.”
Lennon, current boss of Dunfermline, continued: “There was a disconnect all night. On the pitch, in the stands.
“There was nobody to light the fuse. The finishing was erratic and the set-piece delivery was poor all night.
“Whether the protest at the start of the game had anything to do with it, this is Celtic Park on a European night. This is as good as it gets. Go out and express yourself, but it was so disjointed.
“The temperature was so low. It was the polar opposite of what we expect here on a European night.”
BEGINNING OF THE END…Balil El Khannouss drives the ball past Auston Trusty and Kasper Schmeichel for Stuttgart’s first goal in the 4-1 victory.
Reacting to the boos and jeers directed at Kasper Schmeichel after the keeper’s culpability at two of the four goas conceded, the Irishman added: “That is bitterly disappointing.
“He had a bad night, but it still doesn’t warrant that kind of treatment.”
Celtic take on Hibs in the Premiership at Parkhead on Sunday before they head out for Mission Impossible in Germany for the second leg on Thursday evening.
Stuttgart, sitting fourth in the Bundesliga, have lost only one game at home all season and that was against Bayern Munich.
The odds are astronomical on Celtic, who have never won on German soil, replicating the result of the Bavarians.
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