Lennon to keep captaincy
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has assured Neil Lennon he will not be stripped of the captaincy in the wake of the midfielder’s dismissal in the Old Firm defeat on August 20.
Lennon, 34, was dismissed after the final whistle in the 3-1 defeat at Rangers for an altercation with referee Stuart Dougal during which he appeared to barge the official.
The former Northern Ireland international is now facing a lengthy ban and will face a Scottish Football Association disciplinary panel in three weeks to explain his actions.
But the Celtic Park boss insists Lennon will remain as his skipper for the rest of his Parkhead career.
Strachan told the Celtic View on the official club website: “Lennon will be the captain for as long as he will be here.
“I decide when the captaincy is getting changed, not the media.
“Arsene Wenger kept Patrick Vieira as captain at Arsenal despite eight sendings off, and Roy Keane is still captain at Manchester United.
“They are competitors who sometimes go over the line, but competitors play right on that line and occasionally go over it.”
On the pitch, the Celtic manager has urged his central defence to be more forceful during matches.
The Hoops comfortably defeated Dunfermline 4-0 on Sunday but Strachan believes Bobo Balde and Stephen McManus could have marshalled their midfield protection better.
He added: “The centre-halves did well in getting the ball away and defending, but I blame them for not organising the people in front of them.
“If I was a centre-half and was having to put my head in and get cut, I would be saying to people out wide ‘Don’t allow these crosses or I’ll come and knock your head off myself, you try being here for some of them’.”
