Source: Daily_Mail
Neil Lennon fires a volley at El-Hadji Diouf
Furious Neil Lennon has fuelled the extraordinary war of words between El-Hadji Diouf and Parkhead after the controversial Rangers star accused him of unprofessional conduct in the Ibrox tunnel. [LNB]Responding to claims by Diouf that the Celtic boss had launched a furious verbal assault on him at half-time in Sunday's thrilling Scottish Cup clash, Lennon said he was talking 'nonsense' and asked sarcastically: 'Who is he going to have a pop at tomorrow? Maybe it will be John Clark the kit man, or someone like that?' [LNB] At war: Celtic captain Scott Brown and Rangers new boy El-Hadji Diouf square up to each other in Sunday's derby[LNB]In a remarkably outspoken interview to mark his award as Clydesdale Bank Premier League Manager of the Month, Lennon also insisted that: [LNB] Celtic skipper Scott Brown should not have been yellow carded for celebrating his equaliser in front of Diouf;Stevven Naismith was lucky not to have been booked earlier for diving; Man of the moment: Lennon was named Manager of the Month for January [LNB]Steven Whittaker should have been booked for leaving the pitch after scoring his penalty;Scotland assistant boss Peter Houston was out of order for blaming a slippy pitch for the dive which saw Naismith sent off;THE SFA are dragging their heels over the appeal into his six-match touchline ban after a 2-0 defeat at Tynecastle in November. But most of Lennon's anger was reserved for Diouf, who claimed the Celtic boss instructed his players to deliberately target him throughout the fifth-round tie. [LNB]The on-loan Blackburn star, who had a running battle throughout the match with Brown and labelled him 'a nobody' afterwards, also questioned Lennon's professionalism for confronting him in the tunnel, instead of going to the dressing room to address his team at the interval - and said Rangers boss Walter Smith would never have behaved in the same way. [LNB]Lennon last night admitted that he had exchanged words with Diouf at half-time on Sunday, but retorted: 'Diouf's said something about me that's just nonsense. He seems to have a daily column in the paper now.[LNB]'Did I have a go at him at half-time? I told him to keep quiet because he had a lot to say for himself. You only get one side of the story from his point of view. [LNB]'There was a lot that went on in the game and these things should be left on the pitch. 'I never made any specific plans for him, either.' [LNB] Is Diouf the most hated man in football? Ex- team-mate Bardsley tells all...Brown's blast: Celtic 'nobody' fires back at Rangers' bad boy DioufEl-Hadji Diouf warns Celtic skipper Brown: I'm just too big and strong for you [LNB] Explore more:People: Walter Smith Places: Scotland
