Celtic increase Lennoxtown security for Neil Lennon's training session after night of ugly scenes

Neil Lennon was at Celtic training ‘as normal’ this morning after an extraordinary night of protests at Parkhead led to the club tightening security at their training base.
Celtic's training centre at Lennoxtown.Celtic's training centre at Lennoxtown.
Celtic's training centre at Lennoxtown.

Additional stewards and a police presence were seen at Lennoxtown for this morning’s session, which followed a 2-0 Betfred Cup exit to Ross County yesterday afternoon and angry scenes and clashes with police outside Celtic Park.

Pressure on the Hoops boss increased with the home defeat – Celtic’s fourth in a row at Parkhead – and the aftermath outside the ground was condemned by many including Ally McCoist and Justice Minister Humza Yousaf.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The club has now increased security too, as the team prepares to fly to Italy later this week to take on AC Milan in the Europa League group stage amid speculation over the future of the coach.

Bookies this morning installed Gordon Strachan as favourite to take over from Lennon, but the boss was said to be in attendance as training went ahead for the players ‘as normal’ according to Sky Sports.

Reporter Charles Paterson tweeted a video of police leaving the complex, to the north of Glasgow, adding that extra stewards were also in place, and wrote: “One fan was turned away earlier... players training as normal with Neil Lennon in attendance, unclear what happens next.”

Celtic fell to a goal in either half in yesterday’s Betfred Cup last 16 match, which saw Ross County progress to face Livingston in the quarter finals. The Hoops still have last season’s Scottish Cup final to come next month, but sit 11 points off Rangers in the SPFL Premiership, but have two games in hand.

A 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.