Celtic Winning Run Ends But Lennon's Young Squad Looking Strong

by Dugald Skene

Celtic’s 1-1 draw at Aberdeen on Saturday ended a superb run of 20 consecutive wins in all domestic competitions. But for a deflected Gavin Rae strike off the unfortunate debut starter Andre Blackman, Celtic could have stretched it to 21.  But that number isn’t wasted.  With rivals Rangers failing to get any result at home to Hearts, Celtic’s lead at the top of the table is now 21 points.

Celtic haven’t lost a game since their 1-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid on 30^th November and they haven’t dropped points in domestic game since a 0-0 draw with Hibs on 29^th October.  Their last domestic loss was on 2^nd October in a 2-0 defeat to Hearts at Tynecastle.

With all of the off-field problems across the city at Rangers, Celtic have kept their concerns on the pitch and manager Neil Lennon has ensured that whatever is happening at Ibrox, it cannot and will not affect Celtic’s bid for the domestic treble.

Neil Lennon has matured himself and his team this season

Celtic have played the best football of any side in the league and their results mean they deserve to triumph in a league that they are increasingly looking like winning.  Whether or not you consider the 10 point deduction inflicted on Rangers, Celtic still have a healthy lead over their rivals and that cannot be ignored.  Given the 15 point deficit they had to Rangers back in September/October, it is a remarkable turnaround.

The most encouraging factor for the Celtic fans about the form and the way the team are playing, bearing in mind particularly that they have conceded only 5 goals in that 20 game winning run, is that the average age of the team has consistently been around the 23/24 year old mark.

Neil Lennon has made plain his early ambitions to bring in experienced talent to the club when he first joined, touting names like Sol Campbell and Jimmy Bullard.  Ultimately, these players were considered beyond budget and so Lennon’s hand was forced to go for younger and more inexperienced players with the likes of Beram Kayal, Gary Hooper and Victor Wanyama all coming into a new look squad.

It’s a credit to Lennon, his team and his youthful cohorts that they have managed to gel so quickly and start to turn out the results they have.  Should they go on to win the league as looks most likely, it will be a huge achievement for such a young group of players and coaching staff.