Lennon demands Edouard’s full focus
Celtic manager warns wanted striker after 2- 0 win in Perth
NEIL LENNON has told striker Odsonne Edouard to shift his focus back on to Celtic after the striker put in a disappointing showing in the late win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
Edouard was substituted by Lennon in the second half after a hugely ineffective performance, with his replacement Patryk Klimala going on to score the second of Celtic’s late strikes after the returning Leigh Griffiths had put them ahead.
After the game, Lennon admitted transfer speculation surrounding the Frenchman may be affecting him, and the Celtic manager hopes that the imminent closing of the transfer window sees Edouard regain his form.
“I think he has about three or four more gears to come,” Lennon said. “That’s a question you need to ask him.
“Again, I was disappointed with his performance. He needs to settle down. Hopefully after tomorrow he will.
“I can’t speculate but I think it’s apparent it’s been affecting him, but I can’t think for him or put words into his mouth.
“He’s a brilliant player, but we are just not seeing the best of him at the moment.
“Hopefully he’ll calm down once the window shuts and come good for us.
“I’m delighted to win the game. We deserved it but I wasn’t happy with the first half.
“It was all fur coat and no underwear really. We lacked any sort of aggression in our play. Second half was a lot better. We had to wait and be patient.
“I thought we made the subs at the right time and they made a good impact.”
Lennon, meanwhile, refused to comment on reports linking former Scotland international Robert Snodgrass with a move to Celtic from West Ham.
YOU have got to hand it to Leigh Griffiths. There is never a dull moment when the striker is around. It has been seven months since his last appearance for Celtic, but he showed he has lost none of his predatory instinct – nor his penchant for grabbing the limelight – as he climbed off the bench to rescue a win for Celtic against St Johnstone in the dying seconds that never looked like coming.
It was not only the lucky few – or unlucky few, depending on your viewpoint – who were admitted into McDiarmid Park who should have been forced to wear masks as they left, though. The Celtic players who skulked out of Perth after somehow pilfering the three points were indebted to their long- lost talisman on his return to the side, and they could even enjoy the gloss of a two- goal margin of victory after Patryk Klimala added an even later second.
It was harsh in the extreme on Callum Davidson’s men, who were committed, organised, and even created the best opening of the game prior to the 90th minute with Craig Conway crashing a sitter off the post.
None of that will matter to Celtic though, and it does not matter in the record books either. That makes it eight wins on the bounce for the champions since crashing out of the Champions League to Ferencvaros, but for all that, you could hardly describe them as riding on the crest of a wave despite that incredible run of results.
There might well be a great deal of soul- searching and navel- gazing within their camp going into the international break, not least over the stuttering form of the likes of Odsonne Edouard, who was a shadow of his normal self before being hooked midway through the second half.
Still, the strength in depth of the Celtic squad told in the end, with all five of their substitutes making a contribution to their eventual victory. They deserve credit too for their mentality and refusal to accept a point on a day when they were well off their usual game. Indeed, it is the stuff that champions are made of.
David Turnbull was handed his first start for Celtic after his impressive cameo against Hibernian last week, with Scott Brown given a breather. Hatem Elhamed and Oliver Ntcham also came into the side for the injured Nir Bitton and Ryan Christie, with Celtic lining up in a 4- 4- 2.
St Johnstone boss Davidson was looking to arrest an alarming run of form, with just two wins from nine going into this one, with just four goals scored in those games.
The focus here though looked to be on preventing goals at the other end, and the home side were showing endeavour and a commitment to prevent Celtic getting into their stride early on.
That enthusiasm almost spilled over for Liam Gordon as he took a risk by pulling Shane Duffy’s jersey as the defender tried to meet Turnbull’s corner, but referee Nick Walsh was unmoved.
The effectiveness of St Johnstone’s high- press, high- pressure approach was amplified by the increasingly frustrated shouts coming from the Celtic players and echoing around the empty stadium. Stand- in captain Callum McGregor was leaving his team- mates in no doubt that the opening 20 minutes was far below the required standard, turning the air bluer than the jerseys of their opponents.
Celtic eventually created a half- decent opening on the half
hour, as Greg Taylor retrieved an over- hit Elhamed cross and teed up McGregor on the edge of the box, but the skipper’s side- foot effort squirmed wide.
That was really about it though, and as the players trooped in to face their managers at the break, it would certainly have been the St Johnstone men who were the happier to do so.
The sight of Neil Lennon turning back towards his bench in disgust a couple of minutes after the restart as another simple pass slipped under the foot of Edouard – whose hold- up play had been woeful – told you the message had not quite got through.
The Celtic manager’s mood almost darkened further as Saints then blew a golden opportunity to take the lead.
David Wotherspoon’s ball in from the left found Conway in acres of space at the back post, but from eight yards, the winger slammed the ball against the face of the post.
That finally looked to shake Celtic out of their torpor, and it was McGregor driving them on with a fine run down the left and cross that Turnbull could not direct towards goal with his head.
A series of Celtic corners followed as the pressure started to crank up on the home side at long last.
The cavalry then arrived from the bench, and eventually, Celtic’s sheer will to win broke the resistance of the home side.
Celtic recycled the ball to the right- hand side, where Elhamed got his head up and picked out a brilliant cross for the arriving Griffiths, who put his neck muscles right through the ball and planted a header low into the bottom corner.
It was heartbreak for Saints, and salt was rubbed in their wounds moments later as Gordon tried to wipe out Klimala on the edge of the box, only for the Celtic striker to show impressive strength to bounce back up and slam the ball high into the net.
In the end, Celtic left with a clean sheet, two goals and three points. But that does not come close to telling the story.