Under-fire Neil Lennon likely to be in charge of Celtic against AC Milan

Neil Lennon is expected to lead his team to Milan for Celtic’s penultimate Europa League match on Thursday despite the increasing clamour for his dismissal.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon is under pressure after a series of poor results.

The Celtic manager is under intense pressure following Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at home by Ross County, which ended their iron grip on domestic competition and hopes of a fifth Betfred Cup triumph in a row. Supporters gathered outside Celtic Park in the wake of the loss to call for his sacking, with some clashing with police as they broke coronavirus social distancing rules. Celtic’s staff and players had to be escorted off the premises as events turned ugly.

However, despite the unsavoury scenes on Sunday night, Lennon still appears to have the backing of majority shareholder Dermot Desmond and chief executive Peter Lawwell. It is understood that Celtic’s board and Lennon have been locked in meetings to address the increasingly perilous position the Northern Irishman finds himself in. Crucially, Desmond has been left appalled by the behaviour of some fans and has hardened his stance on giving the 49-year-old more time to turn the club’s fortunes around.

Celtic have only won two of their past ten matches, sit 11 points behind Glasgow rivals Rangers in the Premiership – albeit with two games in hand – are out of the Betfred Cup and are also eliminated from European competition with two Europa League matches to go. They have lost their last four matches at home and have conceded 23 goals in their past ten encounters across all competitions.

The nine-in-a-row league champions do have the delayed Scottish Cup final against Hearts on the horizon, but more immediately they head to the San Siro to face AC Milan in what is a dead rubber for them in the Europa League. Lennon is due to speak to the press on Wednesday and, barring any twists in the tale, should be in the dugout for Thursday’s match and, in all likelihood, for Sunday’s match at home to St Johnstone.

With Celtic’s European aspirations already dead in the water, Lennon could survive even a defeat in northern Italy, although there is likely to be scrutiny of the response from his embattled team, who have also come under extreme criticism for their performances in recent weeks.

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