Celtic hero Neil Lennon has been handed a harsh review of his time at Omonia Nicosia by a former player of the Cypriot side.
The ex-Hoops boss took up his first managerial post since leaving Parkhead in 2021 earlier this year and guided Omonia to a Cypriot Cup success in the Spring. He's also got them in the Europa League group stages and was two minutes away from obtaining a heroic 0-0 draw at Manchester United last week, but the club have now axed him after just eight months.
President of the Veterans' Association of Omonia Nikos Patikkis - a former Cypriot international and star at Lennon's old club - says the previous Celtic gaffer might not be solely to blame for a run of four league defeats in seven. But his handling of players certainly played a factor, telling Balla: "It might not be just him. If you are not there in the group to see and hear you cannot judge.
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"Maybe there are other things we don't know about. We don't see them to know. He mismanaged the roster, that's my personal opinion.
"I will give an example, Loizos Loizou. He couldn't get him to play ball, he 'burned' him. Loizos is just an example. We have to forget everything and start from the beginning.
"We are changing the coach and all the players should give 100% of their strength and show the new coach what they deserve."
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