St Mirren v Celtic: Neil Lennon reluctant to dwell on semi-final defeat but trip to Paisley could be cathartic

Football Writer

Saturday 2 March 2013

IT would be pushing it to describe it as a grudge match but there will undoubtedly be an extra edge to proceedings when St Mirren and Celtic meet in Paisley this lunchtime in the quarter-finals of the William Hill Scottish Cup.

Celtic's hopes of a treble were ended by St Mirren at Hampden

Custom byline text:

Graeme Macpherson

With Celtic cruising to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League title and having surpassed expectations by reaching the last 16 of the Champions League, their most wounding defeat of the campaign arguably came at Hampden last month when Danny Lennon's side sent them tumbling from the Scottish Communities League Cup. That defeat cost Celtic the chance of a first domestic treble since 2001, prompting Neil Lennon to criticise his players for a "soulless" performance. "It lacked intensity, it lacked desire, it lacked will to win," the manager said, not mincing his words.

The cup exit was clearly still in Lennon's mind a week later following an altogether more comfortable Scottish Cup win in Fife against Raith Rovers. Asked who he fancied playing in the last eight, Lennon eschewed the usual diplomatic reply of "it doesn't matter as long as we're at home" to reply with typical candour. "We're in the next round and I hope we get St Mirren," he said. "I'm looking forward to it if we do."Lennon, of course, got his wish and will find out this afternoon whether he was right to hope for a re-match. He was less bullish yesterday when asked why he hoped to play St Mirren again – saying it was the players' wish more than his own – but hoped his team would perform significantly better than they did at Hampden that day."I didn't particularly want St Mirren, the players did," he insisted. "They got their wish and it's a chance for redemption. The criticism after the semi irked me; I thought it was a little bit over the top. This is a chance to right a few wrongs. St Mirren beat us that day and they had every right to do that. It was just the fall-out afterwards [that annoyed me]. We shouldn't really have points to prove but we might have on Saturday."I don't want to dwell on the semi final but I'm sure that will still be fresh in the minds of a lot of players. Regardless of who we are playing, it's a quarter-final. A lot of the season hinges on this game in terms of competitiveness between now and the end of the season. There's a trophy to play for and we dearly want to win the cup."The task facing St Mirren today is made all the more difficult when you factor in that Celtic not been knocked out of both domestic competitions in the same season by anyone other than Rangers since Aberdeen did so in 1990. Throw in the expected backlash following the midweek defeat to Motherwell and it is clear the Parkhead side will not struggle for motivation."We owe the fans a performance after Wednesday," said Lennon. "We're going to have to vastly improve upon the performance from the other night. There was a lack of fluency in our play. Maybe that's because I made [five] changes but there was enough quality to win the game or certainly not get beat. That was my disappointment. In the first half, going forward, apart from [James] Forrest, we were poor. They are international players and any time they go on that pitch I want to see it. I want a reaction."At the same time as Celtic were going down 2-1 at Fir Park, St Mirren were beating Hearts to move up to 10th in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. Their second goal was a spectacular effort from all of 30 yards from Graham Carey, a player Lennon knows well from their time together at Celtic."He is capable of goals like that as he's got a great left foot. It was as good as Gareth Bale's strike [for Tottenham against West Ham on Monday] and probably further out. It was a wonder goal and he is capable of doing that. I think he took Jamie MacDonald [the Hearts goalkeeper] by surprise but even if Jamie had been ready for it I don't think he'd have saved it anyway. "At set pieces Graham is a danger – he only needs half a yard – a bit like [David] Beckham. He puts it in with pace in really good areas. He's a good kid and he's found a home at St Mirren."Lennon, however, didn't try to take any credit for Carey's development. "I didn't show him how to strike the ball – Thommo [Alan Thompson, the former Celtic first-team coach] might have done but not me. I couldn't kick it out of my hands that far never mind put it in the net."

Contextual targeting label:

Sport

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

St Mirren v Celtic: Neil Lennon reluctant to dwell on semi-final defeat but trip to Paisley could be cathartic

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED