Celtic defence 'one of the worst in history' as former hero unconvinced champions have turned corner

Former Celtic star Chris Sutton is far from convinced the Scottish Premiership champions have turned a corner after witnessing familiar frailties in their Scottish Cup final victory over Hearts at Hampden.

Hearts attacker Josh Ginnelly scores to make it 3-3 in the Scottish Cup final. Picture: SNS

Neil Lennon’s side looked like they would cruise to quadruple-treble after leading 2-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Ryan Christie and Odsonne Edouard. However, Hearts came storming back in the second period to tie the game up after headers from Liam Boyce and Stephen Kingsley.

Celtic took the lead again in extra-time through Leigh Griffiths but once again failed to hold on as Josh Ginnelly levelled again with nine minutes remain. They were finally able to claim victory after Kristoffer Ajer scored the decisive spot-kick following a Craig Wighton miss.

It’s now three successive victories for the Parkhead club after a dreadful run of two wins in 12 matches, but Sutton still believes their deficiencies in defence, which he reckons is one of the worst in the club's history, will keep them from fully turning their season around as they trail rivals Rangers in the title race by 16 points.

He on Premier Sports: “Celtic's form this season has been woeful, but it's about winning trophies and getting over the line.

“I thought they were fortunate. I don't think Hearts deserved to lose the final in any way, shape or form.

“The hope now is that, from Neil's point of view, this team can kick on. If I'm honest, I'm not convinced because, defensively, it's been the Celtic this afternoon which we've seen all season.

"They don't see games through. It's possibly one of the worst defences in the club's history.”

Message from the editor

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.