EVERYONE knows where I stand in terms of the Celtic job, and that I support Neil Lennon to get the position. For me, the Rangers defeat on Sunday doesn’t alter that, but if he doesn’t get the job, that is entirely Celtic’s decision and that’s fair enough.

The bottom line though is that he has gone in there at a really difficult time for the club, is doing his utmost, and I just feel that some of the backlash against him in the aftermath of Ibrox was over the top.

Everyone is entitled to their view, but come on, Neil is doing the job to the best of his ability, and he has only lost one game. Yes, it was a huge game, but if Neil doesn’t get the job, then he’s the type of guy that will take it on the chin and move on. I am Celtic to the core, as is Neil, and whatever is decided then the club comes first.

I just feel the treatment of him was a bit excessive against a guy who has meant so much to the club and the supporters. Some of the criticism he was getting was wrong.

No one would have wanted to win that game more than Neil. We are talking about someone here who is meant to be loved and respected as one of our own. I respect every Celtic supporter’s right to their opinion, but the backlash on social media against him after the defeat just didn’t feel right to me.

Ok, the team didn’t play well at all on Sunday, but that isn’t always the manager’s fault. You’ve got to look at the players. Lenny sends them out onto the pitch, and they have got to be strong enough to handle going into that cauldron at Ibrox.

There was an awful lot of anger and words thrown around that I just felt were misplaced in terms of where we are as a football club. We’re on the cusp of doing something very, very special here, so let’s get this season finished with three trophies and then take stock.

It sounds ridiculous to suggest when the team are on the cusp of a historic treble Treble, but there have been times this season when the fans have been entitled to feel they want a little bit more.

Now, social media isn’t an indicator of everyone’s opinion of course, but some of the stuff being thrown around was terrible for a man of Neil’s standing at the club.

He has come into this situation and took over a team without bringing anyone in. It’s absolutely fine if you don’t want Neil Lennon as the next Celtic manager, but he was brought in to do a job, get us over the line in the league and into the cup final, and he has done it. If he doesn’t get the job, Celtic will have made their call and they are perfectly entitled to do that.

What the defeat will have done, in a similar fashion to the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Rangers in 2016, is sharpen the minds of the board in regards to what this team needs in the summer. For me, they need a bit of help, they look absolutely exhausted.

These players have done remarkably well over the last three seasons, but whoever the manager is next season, there has to be fresh investment.

The defeat doesn’t signal a shift in the power base in Scotland though. We have won eight titles on the spin, Rangers haven’t won a trophy in god knows how many years, so with a bit of investment and a little bit of common sense, I think that Celtic will be in a really good place.

We are still very much in command, even while recognising there will be a challenge now from Rangers. We should welcome that challenge and raise our own game accordingly.