NEIL Lennon has claimed the statement Rangers chairman Dave King released in the build-up to the Scottish Cup semi-final last week undermined manager Graeme Murty and prompted the dressing room bust-up after the 4-0 defeat to Celtic.

King cast doubt on Murty’s future last Tuesday when he declared that a manager needed to be appointed at Ibrox who could meet the challenges of the role and deliver immediate success.

The 43-year-old, who was the development squad head coach at Auchenhowie until Pedro Caixinha got sacked in October, has only been put in charge until the end of the 2017/18 campaign.

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Miller and Wallace have been suspended pending an investigation into events following the humiliating 4-0 defeat and appear unlikely to play for the Glasgow club again.

Lennon, whose Hibernian side has beaten Rangers twice at Ibrox this season, believes King significantly weakened the former Scotland internationalist’s position in the eyes of his players and reckons that will have contributed to the unrest in the squad.

“I don't know the ins and outs of what went on after the game on Sunday, but I'd does seem to be a bit of a mountain out of a molehill, really,” he said. “You have two experienced players there giving their opinions.

“But the problem Graeme has is that for so long he has been an interim manager so when things are going well everyone is buying into it and saying 'this is great', but when things aren't going well then the players can say 'well, you're not the manager, you might not be the manager for much longer, so I can speak to you how I like'.

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“That is the position Graeme has found himself in. I think he has dealt with things pretty well, but it has been unfair at times.”

Asked about the statement that King had issued just days before the game, Lennon said: “Yeah, thanks, thanks a million! It is up to them how they want to do their business, but I certainly don't think it was helpful to him or his staff.”

Lennon, whose Hibs side is hoping to leapfrog both Aberdeen and Rangers and clinch second spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership, stated he had never been criticised by a player in the dressing room.

But he added: “They are entitled to their opinion and sometimes I ask players what they think and whether they think something is working or if they want to change it, and that is only right because they are the ones out there performing.

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“Sometimes I am out there during a game and I still think I should change it and that is common sense. Players are still entitled to their opinion after the game so long as there is a level of respect.”

Lennon played with 69-times capped Miller at Celtic for a season and is doubtful he would have bad-mouthed Murty in front of his team mates.

“I don't know what he has done or what has been said,” he said. “Sometimes you want a voice in the dressing room. He is hurting and that is why I think it has been blown out of proportion.

“Maybe it has been a build-up of things. He has an opinion, but he has never been a bad professional. He has never disrespected anyone that I have come across. People who have worked with him have always spoken very highly of him.”

Meanwhile, Lennon has defended Murty’s decision to substitute Andy Halliday six minutes before half-time on Sunday with his team trailing 2-0 and predicted he will learn from the experience.

He recalled how he had substituted Fraser Fyvie half an hour in to last year’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.

“It is how he saw it and it was how I saw it at the time I took off Fraser," he said. "We needed to get back in the game so (Grant) Holt came on and within minutes we were back in the game.

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“Sometimes it works for you sometimes it doesn't, but I had to sacrifice somebody and unfortunately for Fraser it was him that day.

“On Sunday, it was Andy Halliday and Graeme made a decision, whether people like it or not, that he felt was best for the team.

“What killed Rangers was the third goal. It didn't give them a chance to get a foothold in the game. So, the decisions can work for you or go against you. He went with his instincts and made a decision he hoped would be for the best on the day and you get hailed for them or you get slaughtered.

“That is the nature of the job and it is not a bed of roses. We all go through good times and bad times and it is how you handle the bad times. They are the experiences that stand you in good stead.”