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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Steven Mair

Neil Lennon claims he’d rather be in Rangers position than Celtic’s

Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon was blown away by his old club's performance in February's derby.

But he reckons he would rather be the chaser at this stage of the title race than the league leader as Rangers look to make up for a three-point gap at Ibrox on Sunday.

As a player and manager in Glasgow's east end, Lennon has been involved in many a title race and many a derby match.

But he didn't see the 3-0 battering coming two months ago when Reo Hatate's double was followed up by a Liel Abada strike to flip the order between the top two.

It hasn't changed since with Celtic extending the lead to three points and that means Ange Postecoglou can really pull away with a victory in Govan.

Speaking to talkSPORT, Lennon said: "I think they had a good January and I really like the way Ange comes across with the media, he's pretty straight.

"I really like the way his team plays and they way they handled the last Old Firm game was fantastic, I don't think anybody saw that performance coming.

"For Gio (van Bronckhorst), he probably got the approach wrong and both teams will be set on a huge encounter now."

Surprisingly, Lennon reckons he'd rather be in the position Rangers are in as the chaser heading towards the crucial post-split fixtures.

He added: "For the first time in a long time we have a bona fide title race and this game will be pivotal.

Glen Kamara and Liel Abada (SNS Group)

"If Celtic win, six points, seven or eight games to go, it puts them in a really strong position but you wouldn't say at that stage it's completely over.

"It can work psychologically both ways, I always think if you're in front everyone wants to chase you so you're always looking over your shoulder.

"When you're chasing there's a little less pressure and a little more excitement in chasing down the opposition.

"For me, going into games, I always preferred to be chasing rather than being in front.

"Listen, if you have a 10-point lead, it's great. But when it's really tight, I feel think if you're just a little bit behind you're in a better position."

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