CHRIS SUTTON described Charlie Nicholas as ‘bitter’ after he claimed Neil Lennon and Martin O’Neill are not Celtic greats.
Nicholas suggested Lennon is ‘not up there with the greatest’ despite leading The Hoops to a historic quadruple treble.
Chris Sutton jumped to the defence of Neil Lennon and Martin O’NeillCredit: Kenny Ramsay – The Sun Glasgow
O’Neill also guided a Celtic team including Lennon to the treble in 2001.
The 68-year-old was in charge of the Scottish giants from 2000 until 2005.
But Nicholas boldly claimed that he does not view him as a ‘great’ either.
Popular pundit Sutton jumped to the defence of Lennon and O’Neill on Twitter.
In response to Nicholas’ claims, he replied: “Charlie is sadly bitter.”
Speaking to the Express, Nicholas had claimed: “Neil Lennon made history by completing the quadruple-treble but it doesn’t put him up there with true Celtic managerial greats Jock Stein and Brendan Rodgers.
“But I would say the same about Martin O’Neill.
“Martin signed some world class players and also inherited a few, such as Henrik Larsson.
Charlie Nicholas did not hold back as he ripped into the two Celtic legendsCredit: Sky Sports
Celtic beat Hearts on penalties to complete the quadruple trebleCredit: Kenny Ramsay – The Sun Glasgow
“He brought in big players and Celtic were paying them fortunes.
“Reaching the 2003 UEFA Cup Final in Seville was fantastic but I never saw Martin as a true great.
“Lennon is a bit like that.
“I absolutely applaud his achievements in winning a treble as a player and a boss but, on the managerial front, his triumphs have come at a time when the title races weren’t overly competitive.
“In fact, if he had lost any of them he would have been out of a job.
“Lennon is not up there with the greatest in Jock Stein and I would go as far as to say he hasn’t delivered what Rodgers did either.”
O’Neill sent fans into frenzy this week as he launched a scathing attack on other football pundits.
The former Hoops boss claimed their opinion is ‘worthless’ if they were ‘basement dwellers’ themselves.
Martin O’Neill was in charge of Celtic from 2000 until 2005Credit: Sportsfile – Subscription
Celtic fans party at Parkhead after club’s quadruple treble win – despite being told the players wouldn’t be there
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
