Lennon set to walk the line in Old Firm derby

NEIL LENNON will be in the Celtic dugout for the Old Firm derby against Rangers at Ibrox on January 2 after another Scottish Football Association hearing was postponed.

The SFA’s disciplinary committee was due to meet at Hampden on Monday to discuss the Celtic boss’s appeal against an automatic two-match ban for being sent to the stand by referee Craig Thomson during the defeat against Hearts on November 10.

An “excessive misconduct” charge for his reaction to a rejected penalty claim and subsequent dismissal were also to be discussed but, had the automatic ban been upheld, Lennon would have had to watch from the stand for the home game against Motherwell on January 29 and the new year trip to Ibrox. However, poor weather has led to the meeting being cancelled until probably January, leaving Lennon clear to fully carry out his duties over Christmas.

The length of delay between crime and punishment at the SFA was addressed by former First Minister Henry McLeish in his damning Review of Scottish Football on Thursday which, among a host of recommendations, called for a reduction in committees and a speeding-up of disciplinary matters at the SFA.

Lennon confirmed the SFA had written to him with regards his excessive misconduct charge. However, Lennon has other worries for Celtic’s trip to Ibrox. Shaun Maloney is out for up to four months after undergoing ankle surgery while defender Glenn Loovens is out for a month with a knee problem. In addition, the Celts could be without their two South Korea internationals, Ki Sung-yueng and Cha Du-ri, who have been called up by their country to take part in the Asian Cup, which begins in January.

“We are hoping that we can delay the guys going away until after Ibrox,” Lennon said. “We are in talks with the South Korean FA over that.”