Source: Team_Talk
Jimmy aims to ruin Lennon's big day
Jimmy Calderwood is planning to spoil Neil Lennon's first match in the Celtic dugout, just as he ruined Robbie Keane's debut last month.[LNB] Calderwood takes his Kilmarnock side to Parkhead on Saturday just two days after Tony Mowbray's departure and Lennon's appointment as interim manager.[LNB]There is bound to be a media circus at the game, just as there was for Keane's Celtic bow at Rugby Park at the beginning of last month.[LNB]Keane started against Killie less than 24 hours after his shock loan move from Tottenham.[LNB]But his debut went spectacularly awry, with Calderwood earning his first Scottish Premier League win in charge and the club's first victory over Celtic for nine years.[LNB]"We're not going there to make it a great day for Neil Lennon, with all due respect," said Calderwood, who nevertheless expects "a backlash" from the Glasgow giants following the 4-0 thrashing at St Mirren which cost Mowbray his job.[LNB]"No disrespect to Tony but I would think so.[LNB]"A new manager coming in, there might be players coming back - you don't know.[LNB]"Neil will have his own ideas, but I don't think it makes it any easier.[LNB]"He's Celtic through and through, he's a wonderful servant to the club, fanatic about his football."[LNB]Kilmarnock have not won at Celtic since 1955 but Calderwood's record there is far more impressive, the 55-year-old having tasted success in the east end of Glasgow more than once while at Aberdeen.[LNB]"I don't think Kilmarnock have got such a good record there but I have won there a few times and drawn a few times," he said.[LNB]"Hopefully, we can get something there tomorrow and upset all the odds.[LNB]"They're the best occasions going to the big grounds."[LNB]Calderwood feels Mowbray's departure after just nine months in charge proves managers are getting less and less time to stamp their authority on clubs.[LNB]"Depending on when you come in, it takes you the first six months to get everything sorted out," he said.[LNB]"After that, you've got a year.[LNB]"I've been lucky. I had four-and-a-half years at Dunfermline and five years at Aberdeen.[LNB]"You get that consistency to try to do something and try to help the squad."[LNB]Four successive league defeats have sucked Killie back into the relegation picture in the last month.[LNB]Calderwood refused to criticise his side for losing to Motherwell, Hibernian and Rangers but was damning in his assessment of Wednesday night's 2-1 defeat to Hamilton.[LNB]"Up until Wednesday's game, although we were getting beaten, we were doing all right," he said.[LNB]"We'd played four out of the top five teams.[LNB]"But Wednesday was a massive disappointment. We were poor, we were very, very poor and that was annoying."[LNB]Like his manager, midfielder Liam Kelly sees parallels between tomorrow's match and Keane's debut, which he played in.[LNB]"There's going to be the hype like that around the game again," he said.[LNB]"We've got to use that to our advantage like the last time and take something from the game."
