‘Samaras could get me the sack’, admits Lennon

Neil Lennon has defended his decision to persevere with under-fire striker Georgios Samaras, but admitted that the Greece international “is a player who could ultimately get me the sack”.

Lennon also confirmed that he aims to have a close look at Scotland forward James McFadden in training with a view to signing him for Celtic.

McFadden’s arrival would provide more competition in attack and would prove popular to those Celtic supporters who have lost faith with Samaras, whom Lennon was forced to defend again yesterday, despite admitting the striker could cost him his job.

The Northern Irishman told one irate shareholder at the club’s annual general meeting that he had no regrets about giving the Greece international a new three-year contract. Samaras, 26, signed a new deal in March despite netting just three Clydesdale Bank Premier League goals last season, two of them against Rangers at Ibrox.

When asked if he regretted handing Samaras a new deal, Lennon said: “No, I don’t. The alternative was to let him leave for nothing. There was a lot of interest in him from other clubs but he wanted to stay here and prove himself.

“He is a player who could ultimately get me the sack. I am as much to blame as him for his performances but I can’t give up on him. There is no doubt that he is a quality player, he just hasn’t shown it enough and he knows that himself. It is up to me and my backroom staff to do that.

“Some supporters may have [lost faith in Samaras] but things can turn around very quickly and all Georgios has to do is find a bit of consistency and score some goals as he did last week for Greece. He knows what I think of him as a player and I will be making more demands of him.”

McFadden, 28, is a free agent and recently spent two weeks training at Wolves, where he received a contract offer. The forward, who has also been linked with a return to Everton, has not played since September 2010 when he suffered a knee injury playing for former club Birmingham.

McFadden’s representatives have held talks with Celtic and the player has been invited to spend some time at their Lennoxtown training complex. Speaking after the agm, Lennon said: “We are hoping he is going to come up and train for a few days. We have been in talks with James obviously, I have spoken to him and [chief executive] Peter Lawwell has been talking to his advisors, whether a deal is agreed yet, I don’t know but there is genuine interest from us.

“It could be short term until the end of the season and, if things go well, then it could be longer term. He’s a player that I’ve liked for quite a while.

“He is a very creative player and has good qualities and he is available. He’s got goals and is a good character. So we are hoping that we can get something sorted out in the next few days.

“He’s been out for a while but I know he has done some rigorous tests down south and passed them all. It would be remiss to sign him on the back of that so we will have a look at him first.”

On a day for finger-pointing by Celtic fans, questions were asked about the commitment of majority shareholder Dermot Desmond, who was again missing from the top table, but Lennon sprang to his defence.

The former Celtic skipper revealed Desmond has admonished him over his behaviour but insists the wealthy businessman is equally passionate about the club. Lennon, who received two touchline bans from the Scottish Football Association last season, said: “I speak to him at least once a week. Dermot is a private person but he is a huge supporter of the club. He is as passionate as I am. He is not short of advice, good advice and is not short of criticism at times either.

“He gives me good advice but has also given me a talking down at times about my behaviour on the touchline or my demeanour. I spoke to him yesterday and he was asking about the players coming back from international duty, what condition they were in. He is always looking for me to find a different angle, an edge. I guarantee he has the best interests of the team at heart.”

Lennon looks forward to Celtic returning to SPL duty against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park after a two-week break. “They are a good footballing team and they have carried it on from last season,” he said. “They have lost a few players but Kenny [Shiels] seems to have replaced them. It might be open and it might be a good game of football.”

Kilmarnock’s Danny Buijs has urged his team-mates to make amends for points dropped in recent weeks with a win at Celtic Park. The Dutch defender knows that a positive result against either half of the Old Firm would generally be regarded as a bonus. But, having failed to overcome St Johnstone, St Mirren and Aberdeen – as well as SPL leaders Rangers – in recent weeks, Buijs admits victory over Celtic could provide a much-needed boost.

He said: “At home we have a good chance against every team but we need it to be a good day for us to beat them or even draw with them. Against Rangers and Celtic, you also need a bit of luck. The first thing we have to do is play with good organisation and work hard and then you can see if there are chances in the game to get a good result.

“Normally, at the start of the season, you would say a result against Rangers or Celtic is a bonus because they are the two big teams in Scotland. But, over the last few weeks, we have dropped some points against teams who we needed the points from. If we get a good result against Celtic, we take back the points we lost in the last few weeks.”