Celtics silent assassins pushing Neil Lennon off a cliff as boss damned by his own words - Gordon Parks

pItapos;s rarely the central characters who lead the dressing room revolt./p pSeldom the big personalities who hold court, mutiny begins with mutterings in the quiet corners from players who are rarely heard./p pWhispers of disquiet, the blame game begins and it#x2019;s why a self-fulfilling prophecy is now playing out at Celtic Park./p pAnd in the end, a href=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/all-about/neil-lennon target=_blank data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link data-content-type=sectionNeil Lennon/a will be damned by a lack of action and by his own words./p pBack in August when a href=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/all-about/celtic-fc target=_blank data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link data-content-type=sectionCeltic/a were being dumped out of the Champions League qualifiers by Hungarian makeweights Ferencvaros, fingers started to be pointed and the die was cast./p pPost-match, the Hoops boss attempted to pick up the pieces and accused some of his players of #x2018;making waves#x2019; in wanting to leave the club. Reading between the lines, the poison was now out of the bottle./p p/ pRefusing to name names, he admitted a lack of commitment to the cause from some within his squad was at play and it had been a source of aggravation for some time./p pIn the midst of one of the club#x2019;s most crucial periods, the seeds were being sown for where the club finds itself today./p pWords without action are translated by footballers as weakness. That failure to take a body or two, not sacrificing someone as a show of leadership has come home to roost within a dressing room rife with silent rebellion. /p pIt can be seen in every half-hearted tackle, a failure to go the extra yard and track back, it shows itself in body language and for weeks it#x2019;s shown itself in the results./p pHave no doubt. Take your pick as to the identity of the prime suspects. Olivier Ntcham, a href=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/all-about/odsonne-edouard target=_blank data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link data-content-type=sectionOdsonne Edouard/a, Kristoffer Ajer, Hatem Elhamed, Nir Bitton, Christopher Jullien, Tom Rogic, all part of a crew of silent assassins to take Lennon out./p img src=https://i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/article23088873.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_Celtic-v-Ross-County-Betfred-Cup.jpg data-portal-copyright=SNS Group/ pAll of the signs and characteristics of a #x2018;one for me and all for me#x2019; approach inside Celtic#x2019;s dressing room are clear to see./p pFans may find it hard to hear, but there#x2019;s a selfishness within the make-up of professional athletes which helps carry them to the top./p pA couldn#x2019;t-care-less approach for the collective, in some cases a clinical psychopathic mindset that all which matters to them is self-preservation and their own agenda and goals./p pWhich takes us back to Lennon and his comments which have been three months in the making: #x201C;There are some players who may want to leave. They have made inroads into that in the last six months or so. So if they don#x2019;t want to be here, we have to do something about it./p p#x201C;If they are making waves to leave the club they are obviously not committed./p p#x201C;We want players committed to the club. I am not going to go into it but I am putting it out there because it has been bugging me for a long long time.#x201D;/p pHe did nothing. The same players are pushing him off a cliff at Celtic. Just what else did he expect?/p pA perfect storm has also been created by a recruitment debacle which has compounded a campaign from hell and here#x2019;s an insight./p img src=https://i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk/incoming/article23088859.ece/ALTERNATES/s810/0_Celtic-v-Ross-County-Betfred-Cup.jpg data-portal-copyright=SNS Group/ pIn the weeks leading up to Albian Ajeti#x2019;s #xA3;5million move from West Ham, a well-placed agent called to discuss the prospect and admitted the Hammers couldn#x2019;t wait to recoup some of the #xA3;8million they#x2019;d forked out to Basel for their flop. /p pThe summary from the player#x2019;s time in London didn#x2019;t include any terms of endearment, the agent laughed at the prospect of Celtic being #x2018;sold a pup#x2019; and insisted the Swiss international was well short of the quality required to become a success in Glasgow. Suckers number one./p pPrivately, Lennon had concerns over the arrival of a href=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/all-about/shane-duffy target=_blank data-link-tracking=InArticle|Link data-content-type=sectionShane Duffy/a, he#x2019;d done his homework and he knew the limitations of a player who turned slower than the QE2 and may not be the man needed to steady the ship. Suckers number two./p pThe noise of fury amongst the fans of Celtic grows louder and they will get their wish, but it#x2019;s the silent assassins which will see to it that Lennon gets the sack./p