NEIL Lennon has hit back at his former team mates and the ex-players who have rounded on him during Celtic’s tumultuous season - and accused them of selling their souls to raise their media profiles.

Lennon had a public spat with one-time Parkhead striker Andy Walker last month as the fallout to the Scottish champions’ much-criticised warm-weather training break to Dubai escalated.

He has also spoken of his disappointment at the criticism he has received from the likes of Kris Commons, John Hartson, Stiliyan Petrov and Chris Sutton, who he has either played with or coached in the past.  

Glasgow Times:

The Northern Irishman believes the level of abuse that he and his players have been subjected to during the 2020/21 campaign has exceeded anything he has experienced in the past.

The quadruple treble winners’ have been pelted with missiles, required police escorts and had their team bus attacked after games as their hopes of completing 10-In-A-Row have evaporated.

Lennon stressed that he has been unaffected by the reaction to their disappointing season personally and is comfortable with how he has conducted himself during a season that has been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. 

However, he feels that many pundits have let themselves down with their comments.

Glasgow Times:

“I think it’s a sign of the times,” said Lennon. “It’s not objective anymore. I think it’s more personal, people don’t see you or choose not to see you as a human being. The criticism is a lot harsher.

“That’s why I’m a lot more guarded. I try not to give too much and sometimes I think I’m boring when I do press interviews as I don’t want to give too much away. Some people analyse everything that you say or are selective in their quotes and use it against you for later on.

“I’ve seen it with other people, peers of mine. Some court public opinion to get more followers or get more click bait and that type of stuff. These people have sold their soul a little bit.

“I’m happy with the way I have dealt with things, my conscience is completely clear about how I’ve gone about my work as well.” 

Glasgow Times:

Lennon continued: “It certainly galvanises me. I’ve said before that in a perverse kind of way I quite enjoy it.

“I don’t take it, I don’t believe it as I have evidence to back up what I’ve achieved in the game here and what I can achieve going forward. 

“We’ve gone through a really adverse season, there are various reasons and it’s not all down to football. That’s something that maybe people don’t get a grasp of or really don’t want to get a grasp of.

“They choose to ignore all of those factors and that’s fine, that’s their world, it’s not mine so you sit and analyse things and try and get the best out of the team.

“We haven’t been able to do that this season, but I’m not running out on my players or giving up on my players. I believe we have a fine squad and it’s not been our year. 

“Hopefully that can change over the next one, two, three, four seasons going forward.”

Glasgow Times: