Chris Sutton has branded Charlie Nicholas "sadly bitter" after the pundit's swipe at Neil Lennon's Celtic legacy.
Nicholas controversially claimed Lennon was not "a true great" after becoming the first man in the club's history to win a Treble as player and manager.
The Irishman sealed his place in the history books with a penalty shootout victory over Hearts in Sunday's Scottish Cup Final, the club's fourth in a row.
But Nicholas, a former Celtic striker, reckons the current boss still lags behind Jock Stein and Brendan Rodgers.
He applied the same verdict to Martin O'Neill after he shot down the opinions of "basement dweller" pundits who have criticised Lennon's stewardship.
And now Record Sport columnist Sutton has responded to Nicholas' remarks on Twitter.
He posted: "Charlie is sadly bitter..."
Nicholas has been frequently critical of Lennon throughout the season, and took a fresh pop on Tuesday morning.
He wrote in his Express column: " Neil Lennon made history by completing the quadruple-treble but it doesn't put him up there with true Celtic managerial greats Jock Stein and Brendan Rodgers.
"But I would also say the same about Martin O'Neill.
"Martin signed some world-class players and also inherited a few, such as Henrik Larsson.
"He brought in big players and Celtic were paying them fortunes.
"Reaching the 2003 UEFA Cup Final in Seville was fantastic but I never saw Martin as a true great.
"Lennon is a bit like that.
"I absolutely applaud his achievements in winning a treble as a player and a boss but, on the managerial front, his triumphs have come at a time when the title races weren't overly competitive.
"In fact, if he had lost any of them he would have been out of a job.
"Lennon is not up there with the greatest in Jock Stein and I would go as far as to say he hasn't delivered what Rodgers did either.
"There's no denying Lennon has been a success and it is an extraordinary run that he has continued.
"I know it was a bit of a gift what he inherited from Rodgers but Lennon deserves credit for getting Celtic over the line.
"They now go into the history books and I congratulate him and his team.
"There is a suggestion that ex-players who criticise Lennon or don't wish the best for Celtic are jealous.
"I have never been jealous but I am envious of this Celtic team. I would have loved to play in this era, lifting the trophies they have.
"Celtic were not dominant against Hearts in last weekend's Scottish Cup Final but it was all about getting the quadruple-treble in the bag.
"It has to be acknowledged that Celtic have produced some high standards over the last four years.
"You can see those standards are slipping and there are weaknesses in their team now.
"The level has dropped from where this team has been."
