Delighted Neil Lennon has revealed how some tough love helped teenager Loizos Loizou to the brink of the Cypriot Cup final.
Lennon's Omonia Nicosia blew Anorthosis Famagusta away in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday night.
The former Celtic boss has little to play for in the league but the capital city side, who haven't won the trophy since 2012, got their biggest result of his tenure so far in the semi-final first leg.
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Omonia led early on through veteran Fotis Papoulis but the surprise hero however was teenager Loizos Loizou who added the killer second.
That goal has Omonia 2-0 up heading into their home second leg next Wednesday.
But it came after the 18-year-old was slammed in front of his team-mates for having a poor attitude and body language just weeks into Lennon's reign.
The former Northern Ireland international reckons the tough love has reaped rewards as he laid it on thick in his press conference after the game and he could soon have a crack at his first trophy since winning the Scottish Cup Final in 2020 against Hearts, reports the Daily Record.
He said: "Just on Loizos, a few weeks ago we weren't long in the building and we played AEL in a league game.
"He came on as a substitute and he was very, very poor.
"Poor attitude, poor body language.
"My whole team talk after the game was criticising him – and since then I have seen a different player.
"That speaks a lot to me about not only his talent but the character of the player as well.
"He has been wonderful ever since, in training and in games. I want to pay him some sort of tribute but I also want to pay the whole squad a tribute.
"They have really worked hard and we're starting to see some good results."
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