Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
Sport
Chris Doyle

Neil Lennon hits out at Willie Collum as Celtic boss vows to block out noise after poor run of form

Neil Lennon has criticised referee Willie Collum's performance after Celtic's 3-3 draw with Aberdeen.

It was a dramatic afternoon at Pittodrie as Lewis Ferguson denied the Hoops all three points with a stoppage time penalty.

There were plenty of twists and turns as the Dons took the lead twice, before the Hoops netted two goals in quick succession to take a 3-2 lead in the second half.

There were three penalties in total and although Lennon says he needs to see them again before giving his verdict, he feels ref Collum had a "very poor" game.

(SNS Group)

He told BBC Sportsound: "I'll need to see them again but I think the referee had a very poor game today.

"This is the first time really I've been semi-critical of a referee, I thought he was poor.

"In decision making, in being influenced by his assistants, some of the decisions were baffling out there today.

"That's not an excuse for us dropping points but it didn't add to what was an incredible game of football.

"I thought he was poor for a referee of his level."

It's three games without a win for Celtic after back-to-back defeats against Rangers and Milan.

And Lennon admits his side aren't firing on all cylinders, but insists they will come out the other side of this difficult spell.

He added: "We don't like dropping points.

"It's a little phase that they are going through at the minute, a few of them might be a little bit fragile confidence wise.

"It's my job to keep them going and we will work through this.

"There are signs we are getting better but we've got to stop inviting the pressure.

"We were sort of passive. There's a minute to go in the first half and we should play it forward rather than still trying to play.

"So decision making has to be a little better and see the game out at 3-2. We had plenty of bodies to deal with it."

Criticism will mount for Celtic and Lennon, but the Parkhead boss has vowed to block out the outside noise.

He said: "I can't control that. You are wary of that but people have their opinions and they will have a go at me, they will have a go at the players but that is par for the course with this job.

"You have to accept it, look and what you have achieved before and what you can achieve and carry on as strongly as you can."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.