Source: Team_Talk
Irate Lennon blasts bad Bhoys
eil Lennon accused some of his Celtic players of showing no "bottle, desire and hunger" in the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Ross County.[LNB] Caretaker manager Lennon read the riot act to his squad after locking them in the dressing room for 15 minutes following the 2-0 loss at Hampden, as the club's miserable season hit a new low.[LNB]The former Parkhead captain directed much of his ire at misfiring strikers Georgios Samaras and Marc-Antoine Fortune, who he claimed had failed to put their bodies on the line for the cause.[LNB]Revealing he was "past angry", Lennon - who was handed the reins following Tony Mowbray's sacking last month - said: "Whether I'm here or not next season, I told them I'm pretty sure some of them won't be.[LNB]"People talk about Tony not instilling passion in the team. Those are things you can't give the players.[LNB]"You can get them motivated and they'll pull the wool over your eyes.[LNB]"There was only one team out there who wanted to win today, and that was Ross County.[LNB]"I'd like to congratulate them - they deserved it."[LNB]Revealing his sentiments were echoed by one or two of his players, he added: "Bottle, desire and hunger, you have to have that from a kid growing up.[LNB]"You have to love the game and want to play the game and want to win. We don't have enough winners."[LNB]Lennon kept faith with the same outfield line-up from his first two games in charge.[LNB]"Half of them never turned up," he said, accusing Samaras and Fortune of being "nowhere near consistent enough".[LNB]"I'm sick of seeing our players fall over.[LNB]"I'm sick of seeing strikers not want to go in where it hurts and score a goal for the team.[LNB]"We've gone out of every competition with an absolute whimper."[LNB]He added: "It's been a pretty shambolic season. Let's not mince our words here.[LNB]"We're 13-16 points behind Rangers, we've gone out of the quarter-finals of the League Cup, gone out of the semi-finals to a First Division team in the FA Cup.[LNB]"UEFA Cup (Europa League): couldn't even make it out of the group.[LNB]"You tell me, is that good enough for Celtic?"[LNB]Saturday's defeat was up there with the club's other shock cup exits over the past decade.[LNB]Lennon, who does not believe his current squad have it in them to mend their ways, said: "I warned them about Inverness, Clyde; I warned them about semi-finals.[LNB]"I told them to start the game quickly, earn the right to play, because I played in eight or nine semi-finals and not one of them was a cakewalk - not one of them did we play teams off the pitch.[LNB]"It was a fight and you have to earn the right to play.[LNB]"We go out and we think, 'It'll come to us'.[LNB]"Never forced a corner, never worked the goalkeeper. Sloppy, casual - I don't know if they were nervous. But you have to overcome all those things.[LNB]"You're playing for Celtic; there's huge expectation. Bottom line is, we're not good enough."[LNB]The defeat will harm Lennon's chances of becoming manager on a permanent basis but he said: "It reinforces the fact that that I want it more."[LNB]And he did not mince his words about what he expects from his squad for their final six games of the season, saying: "Show some b******* for God's sake."
