A New Year, A New Challenge

Neil Lennon sets his players the task of reacting to the final game of 2019 in the only way they know — by winning

- Tony Connelly

The winter break offers a brief period of recovery after a hectic first half of the season, but it also allows some time for reflection. A historic European run, a trophy and excellent domestic form made for a thrilling start to the campaign, but defeat in the Glasgow derby at the end of the year ended an otherwise phenomenal six months.

Neil Lennon will look to his players to harness the disappointment from December 29 and use it as added motivation in their fight to retain the league title and clinch the coveted nine-in-a-row as Celtic head not only into the New Year, but also a new decade.

In the immediate aftermath of the game, the Inshman said Celtic’s performance was out of keeping with the way the team had been playing leading up to the fixture and admitted it was never going to be enough to win the game.

“We didn’t start well at all,” said the manager. “We had a good spell up until half time, and then came off it again. The second goal was a poor one to lose it was a free header. From there, we were chasing the game. We had some good chances, and we missed a penalty.

“For the first 15 minutes we were playing in our own half and you can’t do that in a derby, so we need to look at that and change it.

“Our passing was poor. Callum McGregor was the only driving force for us, and we need more than that. We can't cancel out a full season on one game, but we're bitterly disappointed — for us and for the Celtic supporters.

“Overall, we didn’t play well enough. We didn’t deserve to lose it but we didn’t deserve to win it either.”

A detailed post-match analysis will have given the manager, John Kennedy and Damien Duff much to discuss as they prepare the squad for the season run in. However, even the initial take on the game provided Neil Lennon with some indications as to what was missing in his side’s performance.