Neil Lennon has reflected upon his horror final six months as Celtic manager – wondering 'where we would've ended up' as COVID-19 ravaged world football and left the Hoops without a first title in 10 years.
The Irishman had won the title the season before, heading into the 31st game of the season a huge 13 points ahead of bitter rivals Rangers, albeit with the Light Blues boasting a game in hand. With the Premiership season curtailed early as a result of the pandemic, it was decided on a points-per-game basis. Celtic romped to the title with a PPG of 2.67, trumping Rangers who held a 2.31 record to claim a ninth title in a row. But the effects of the virus played a huge part the following season, according to Lennon.
Celtic endured a horror campaign and only led the pack for the first game of the season, with Rangers finishing the campaign unbeaten and a huge 25 points ahead of the Hoops. That led to Celtic failing to win an unprecedented 10th title in a row for the first time in Scottish football history – though Lennon has partially put that down to the virus, wondering 'where we would've ended up' if it wasn't for the pandemic.
Lennon told Pundit Arena: “We looked like we were going to reach 100 points and 100 goals and we’d also beaten Lazio home and away that season. We were romping the league and you wonder where we would’ve ended up if it wasn’t for the lockdowns and Covid.”
Lennon resigned on February 24 that season following a tepid 1-0 loss to Ross County, which left them 18 points behind Rangers with just eight games left in the season. Their worst run of form was in January, where they took six points from a possible 18 as the blue half of Glasgow smiled gleefully at their demise upon a return to the summit of Scottish football for the first time in a decade.
