“The psychology of the team isn’t right,” Ex-Celtic boss on Barry’s problem

The Celtic Star

·4 March 2025

“The psychology of the team isn’t right,” Ex-Celtic boss on Barry’s problem

Neil Lennon believes Barry Ferguson is dealing with a squad at theRangers that is mentally weak and has described the gap between Celtic and the latest Ibrox club as a ‘chasm’…

theRangers interim manager Barry Ferguson reacts during the Scottish Premiership match between theRangers FC and Motherwell FC at Ibrox on March 01, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Ferguson’s debut as interim boss saw theRangers stage a comeback to secure a 4-2 victory against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park last Wednesday. However, they failed to carry that momentum forward, suffering a 2-1 home defeat to Motherwell on Saturday – marking their third consecutive loss at Ibrox across all competitions.

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Celtic extended lead to 16 points later in the day

Subsequently, Celtic extended their lead over their city rivals to 16 points with a hard-fought 5-2 victory over St Mirren on Saturday evening. The Ibrox club now face a tough away clash against Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbache in the Europa League last 16 on Thursday night in Istanbul. An exit from Europe’s second-tier competition would mean Ferguson’s men’s season is effectively finished in March.

Andy Haliday of Motherwell is seen after his team score their opening goal during the Scottish Premiership match between theRangers and Motherwell at Ibrox on March 01, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Lennon insists theRangers will struggle to progress domestically unless there is a severe shift in the team’s mindset. The former Celtic manager said, as reported by BBC: “It’s a chasm. I couldn’t believe the result from Ibrox on Saturday.”

“It’s gone the other way”

“I thought with Barry going in there and with the change he made against Kilmarnock which was positive one and it got them the result and the performance, you are thinking ‘maybe there is a bit of momentum there’. But it’s gone the other way.”

Daizen Maeda celebrates. St Mirren v Celtic, Scottish Premiership, Saturday 1st March 2025. Photo: Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Lennon added: “There is a huge fragility there in the squad. And for whoever takes over, whether it be Barry or somebody else, everyone talks about a rebuild but for me it’s a change of culture and psychology that is needed more than anything else. I think they have got some good players there but obviously the psychology of the team isn’t right.”

'It's a chasm' 😬 Neil Lennon on the gap between Celtic and Rangers ⤵️ #BBCFootball
– Monday, 3 March 2025

Conor Spence

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“The psychology of the team isn’t right,” Ex-Celtic boss on Barry’s problem | OneFootball