Celtic Fall At Home To The 10-Men Of Motherwell

The Bhoys Leave Their League Fate In Rangers' Hands

By Tony Quinn

Celtic all but conceded their SPL champions crown after losing 1-0 at home to 10-man Motherwell on Saturday. Simon Lappin scored the only goal of the game for the visitors in the first half and although Bob Malcolm was sent-off in the 50th minute, Mark McGhee's side held on for all three points. Mathematically Celtic can still win three SPL titles in a row but it looks like Motherwell - who denied Celtic the title in 2005 with a final day 2-1 win at Fir Park - have again helped Rangers to the league championship.

After the game Gordon Strachan vowed not to relinquish the SPL title easily. "It's going to be near-impossible, but we will keep plugging away," he said. "I said we couldn't afford to lose any more points, but my opinion has been wrong on a couple of things. I will have to suffer with the rest of the fans who have Celtic at heart. We didn't take our chances and couldn't keep a clean sheet," Strachan added.

Aiden McGeady believes Celtic supporters have been too quick to turn on the team. "The fans forget quite easily and fairly quickly. It was only a couple of months ago things were going great, we were still in the Champions League, still in the Scottish Cup, now it is almost the end of the world. I suppose it is a massive failure not to be winning anything this season. We are still playing for the league but if we don't win there is always next year. We got to the last 16 two years in a row, won the league last year, there had been a lot of trophies. People tend to forget fairly easily in football."

Celtic have appointed former captain Neil Lennon to the coaching staff. Lennon, 36, left Celtic last summer and has had playing spells at Nottingham Forest and Wycombe. "I am overwhelmed at being offered this chance to return to Celtic, a place where everyone knows my heart lies," Lennon said. "Returning to Celtic and being part of the coaching set-up is phenomenal."

Celtic legend Lubo Moravcik feels Neil Lennon has what it takes to become the manager of Celtic in the future. He said: "Who knows what will happen in the future, but I can see him becoming the manager in a few years' time. I think he would enjoy that and the supporters would love it as well. Lenny always liked ordering people around on the pitch and now he will get to do that for a living. It's going to suit him."

Derek Riordan has claimed Gordon Strachan was "talking rubbish" by claiming that he is still in his plans. The striker was signed in June 2006 after scoring 64 goals in 146 appearances for Hibs but has failed to be given a chance at Parkhead. "I only get chucked on when we need a goal so he must think I can get him one," Riordan said. "But he obviously doesn't want to do it unless he really has to because he doesn't want me to prove him wrong. He knows I would score quite a lot if he played me as much as he has played the other strikers but I don't think he wants to be proved wrong. When I speak to him, he's nice to me and says all the things that players want to hear about me being part of his plans but you know by his actions that he is talking rubbish."

Three Celtic players have been named on a four-man shortlist for the PFA Scotland Player of the Year award - Scott McDonald, Aiden McGeady and Barry Robson. McGeady is also on a five-man shortlist for the young player award. The successor to Shunsuke Nakamura will be announced at a dinner at the Glasgow Hilton on April 20.