FORMER Celtic defender Gary Caldwell has leapt to the defence of his old team-mate Neil Lennon with the Northern Irishman facing some serious pressure at Parkhead.

The Premiership champions' 35-game winning run in the cups was brought to an abrupt end on Sunday when Ross County stunned Lennon's side in the last 16 of the Betfred Cup, while Rangers currently boast an 11-point lead in the title race having played an additional two games.

With nothing left to play for in the Europa League, Lennon is facing a fight to hold onto the Celtic Park hotseat - with Caldwell insisting that his old friend is not solely to blame for Celtic's failures this season, and that no one is more desperate to turn things around than the 49-year-old.

Caldwell told Sky News: "If you cut him open he would have green and white blood. It runs through his veins.

"The club song is ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ yet at this moment in time a small minority are hanging one man out to dry.

"I think the whole club needs to take responsibility for the situation the team finds themselves in at the minute.

"It is a bit of an obsession to get 10 in a row. Celtic have to try and get away from that and focus more on the process of winning games."