CELTIC’s hopes of securing an historic tenth consecutive league title are looking increasingly remote, with Wednesday’s 2-2 draw at Livingston leaving Neil Lennon’s men 20 points behind Rangers having played an additional two games.
The Premiership holders’ collapse in recent months has been remarkable: constant slip-ups on domestic duty have seen the club lag behind their rivals at the table’s summit; a disappointing European campaign resulted in elimination from continental competition before Christmas; and their record of 12 straight trophy successes was brought to a shuddering halt when Ross County dumped the holders out of the Betfred Cup in the last 16.
It’s been a poor campaign for Celtic and across the city, Rangers’ stellar form has underlined just how stark the drop-off has been. It’s no secret that this is one of the worst seasons the Parkhead club have suffered in a long time – and when we examine Lennon’s record and compare it to how some of his predecessors got on in their final campaign in Glasgow’s east end, the scale of Celtic’s decline is made all the more apparent.
The results don’t make for pleasant reading for Lennon. Gordon Strachan (2.02) and Ronny Deila (2.05) were both accruing more points-per-game on average than the Northern Irishman is this term (1.84) in all competitions, although the current occupant of the Parkhead hot seat is outperforming Tony Mowbray (1.73) in this regard.
Lennon’s team may not be getting the results that Strachan or Deila got in their final campaigns in Glasgow’s east end but it should be pointed out that the current iteration of Celtic are more lethal in front of goal than the sides Strachan or Mowbray formed.
Deila’s side from the 2015/16 season were the best in attack, averaging 2.28 goals per game, but Lennon’s team aren’t lagging too far behind with 2.13. That’s an improvement on Strachan’s final season at the helm (1.93) and significantly better than the 1.73 goals-per-game on offer during Mowbray’s tenure. The points may not be flowing in for Lennon in quite the same way they were under previous management, but there haven’t been too many issues finding the net this term.
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The real problems in this current Celtic team, it appears, can be found at the back. This season, Lennon’s side are shipping 1.29 goals-per-game – making them the leakiest defence seen at Parkhead for quite some time.
Neither Strachan (0.91), Mowbray (1.09) or Deila (1.04) were conceding as regularly in their final season in charge as Lennon’s team are currently, and it’s this area of the park where Lennon’s side stand out for all the wrong reasons.
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