Neil Lennon: Celtic boss 'on hiding to nothing' says Aberdeen's Derek McInnes
- Published
Lennon is on hiding to nothing - McInnes
Scottish Cup semi-final: Aberdeen v Celtic | |
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Venue: Hampden Park Date: Sunday, 14 April Time: 14:00 BST | |
Coverage: Listen to BBC Radio Scotland and follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport Scotland website |
Neil Lennon is "on a hiding to nothing" as he tries to earn the Celtic manager's job on a permanent basis, says Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes.
The sides meet in the Scottish Cup semi-finals on Sunday, with Celtic on course for a third treble in a row.
McInnes says Lennon faces a tough situation after taking over from Brendan Rodgers in February.
"Although he's come out and said it's Brendan's team, he'll be desperate to try to see the job through," he said.
"He's on a hiding to nothing really. If he doesn't win the league - which he will now, I'm pretty sure - or if he doesn't win the cup, it will be seen as a failure.
"But the same wouldn't have been said of Brendan if he didn't win the cup, so it's tough for them."
Aberdeen will come up against Lennon's Celtic side without their captain this weekend, with Graeme Shinnie suspended for the game.
McInnes says his side cannot be too hung up on that, and the young players in the team must step up.
"He is a key player but we've been without [Shay] Logan and [Gary] Mackay-Steven of late - we've been missing key players for a while and we can still win big games," he said.
"It's about once again my younger players stepping up and the team showing their motivation to be successful.
"There's a body of evidence this season that we can deal with these types of games and hopefully that can play out on Sunday."