Lennon apologises to fans

SCOTTISH CUP SEMI-FINAL:NEIL LENNON can only hope his blunt appraisal of Celtic's shortcomings after their semi-final defeat by First Division Ross County will convince the club's board that he should be given the chance to rectify them into next season.

Lennon, Celtic’s interim manager, has made his desire to replace Tony Mowbray permanently perfectly plain. Yet Saturday’s shock is likely to have fatally undermined the former captain’s case.

“There are things you can give players, information, tactics, but there are two things you can’t give them, hunger and desire, and we were found wanting,” he said after Celtic’s 2-0 defeat. “County wanted it more. It has been endemic all season. We have gone out of every competition with a whimper.

“This season has been nowhere near good enough. That’s why Tony lost his job? The players, we thought, would be good enough ultimately were not. If I’m not here [next season], I’m pretty certain that some of them won’t be either.”

Lennon added that he would be recommending to the Celtic directors that a summer clear-out of first-team players takes place. “I’m way past angry,” he said. “I spoke to the players coolly and calmly for 15-20 minutes after the game. I never raised my voice, I did that at half-time and didn’t get the response that I wanted.”

Saturday’s game, during which Celtic failed to tax their opponents for any length of time, was similar to a decade ago when Inverness Caledonian Thistle bundled the club out of the Scottish Cup. Lennon was also a member of the Celtic team which lost to Clyde in 2006.

“I’ll carry on until the end of the season and see what happens,” Lennon said. “The players are going to have to take the criticism and so will I. I told the players you can’t pull the wool over people’s eyes. The Celtic fans are very knowledgeable. We are asking a lot now for them to stay with us for the rest of the season.

“I can only apologise on behalf of the staff and the players. Whether that is good enough for them, I don’t know.”