Neil Lennon hammers Brendan Rodgers’ unfamiliar ‘tone’ as Celtic are slapped by league leaders

The former Celtic boss has been a vocal advocate for his fellow Irishman in the past however, the 52-year-old launched a withering takedown of the man he once succeeded in the Parkhead hotseat

Neil Lennon, unimpressed, has lashed out at his fellow Northern Ireland man Brendan Rodgers following the “Honda Civic” controversy, stating that he’s never heard a Celtic manager speak in such a manner.

The pressure on Ridgers and Celtic increased after a shambolic defeat to SPl league leaders Hearts on Sunday which leaves Celtic now a whopping eight points off the top after only nine games. The former boss, who has previously been a vocal supporter of his fellow Irishman, launched a scathing critique of the man he once succeeded in the Parkhead hotseat.

Ahead of the hearts game, Rodgers stirred up controversy when he used an analogy suggesting his team was more akin to a Honda rather than the Ferrari he needed them to be. This didn’t sit well with the former Celtic boss who publicly voiced his concerns over what Rodgers had said to the press.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Lennon stated: “I didn’t like his comments last week, the car analogy, I’ve never heard a Celtic manager talk like that about his team before. There’s a source of frustration there, maybe they didn’t get the quality of player he was looking for.”, reports the Daily Record.

“But September’s gone, he’s got to get on with the job in hand. The team should have been more than good enough to beat Dundee last week. They got a good reaction, they played very well against Sturm Graz.

“It’s not an ideal situation with his contract up at the end of the season. that is always going to be in people’s minds. Maybe the club are looking at January with the thoughts that Brendan might not be there next season. There has been no real talk of a new contract, he is experienced enough to get on with the job. I’ve been a big fan of Brendan, but frustrations are getting the better of him in his press conferences.”

Discussing the Honda Civic remarks, Lennon believes it’s a difficult message for those within the changing room to accept.

Lennon continued: “That was my immediate thought, if you’re a player in the dressing room and you are hearing that from your manager, it came out of nowhere, he’s obviously quite emotional after the game, annoyed over what he perceives as a lack of quality.”

For Celtic, this was another epic fail. And on this seismic Sunday in Gorgie, the title threat to Rodgers and his stuttering team came across loud as the sound of jubilant Jambos chanting “We shall not be moved.”

Claudio Braga has a song to the tune of Queen, but it was a Dane Murray own goal, Alexandros Kyziridis and a Lawrence Shankland penalty that has the Hearts fans believing they can be kings.

It was a statement win. Everyone said this was the day they had to prove themselves genuine contenders by beating a Celtic side short of consistency and key men.

McInnes’ men delivered. They led through Murray’s own goal, were pegged back by Callum McGregor and could even have fallen behind at the break had Benjamin Nygren buried a gilt-edged chance for the visitors.

But, with it all on the line after the restart, their response was emphatic and too much for the faltering champions.

Kyziridis came inside to drill a fabulous finish and restore the lead before Shankland slammed home a penalty to put them out of sight. Tynecastle rocked. With Tony Bloom in the stand having his name sung, this was the day when his vision started to feel possible and real.

Beside him, a Celtic hierarchy who can only dream of having a support behind them. Rodgers’ team couldn’t cope with their absences. A troubled campaign suffered another brutal blow.