2013-12-11: Barcelona 6-1 Celtic, European Cup

Match Pictures | Matches: 2013 – 2014 | 2013-14 Pictures

Trivia

• Champions League 2013-14
• Last match, round six.
• Regardless of the result we were rooted bottom of the group, finishing last in the group.
• Joint record European defeat for Celtic; masterclass from Barca with hat trick from wee naff Neymar.
• Out of Europe now for the season.
• A banner displayed on the pitch at all UEFA Champions League matches this week as a tribute to recently passed away Nelson Mandela. It reads: Madiba, the world will never forget
• Twitterer David Limond (Glasgow Limmy) was found guilty on Friday of religious hate crime after sending threatening communications to Celtic. Book editor Angela Heggarty in 2012. Good! Sentencing in January coming.
• Match way overshadowed by this time disturbances from last league match, with trouble makers at Fir Park amongst the Celtic crowd setting off flares, breaking seats and throwing stuff on to the pitch.
• Much discussion originally with many having advocated that GB section 111 be closed. In fairness the GB are not the ones worst in this, but their hangers on are. The GB released a statement which for first time ever was conciliatory in tone.
• On Monday following (9th Dec), Celtic then announced the inevitable closure of the GB section and the reallocation of 125 fans. Sad situation. Some stating it as the end of the Green Brigade. The board are not villains in this situation it must be made clear. Makes national news.

Review

(HenryClarson of KDS forum)
Barcelona are exceptionally good at playing football and we're not. We're still better than most teams but we're not – and probably never will be – able to build and keep a side which contains some of the very best football players on the entire planet while having the benefit of being able to plan the long-term creation of a system which allows those players to perform to the best of their potential.

Playing at the level of the very best teams in the world it was absolutely inevitable that we'd eventually take an absolute horsing from someone. It finally happened tonight and it's to the credit of various squads that it's been delayed for so long.

Tonight was a reality check.

We received a reminder of what football actually looks like when it's played properly by good footballers.

Ajax received exactly the same lesson at the start of the campaign when they were also on the receiving end of a pasting at Barcelona's hands. The difference between them and us is that they are geared to playing football properly. For a start, their players can pass the ball accurately. They are a young team who will be better in a year's time.

They have only been denied second place in this group by a bent referee who gifted AC Milan an undeserved equaliser via an injury-time penalty award in Amsterdam so that he could collect his very substantial bribe from the agents of the serially convicted Italian match-fixers. Even so, the habitual cheats of Milan failed to beat Ajax in either leg and never even managed to take a lead against the Dutch. Yet the corrupt Italian side made light of thrashing Celtic at Celtic Park and also won their home tie with a makeshift first XI. Ajax will almost certainly improve in the future.

Celtic are clearly deteriorating.

What's to be done about this?

If the SPFL Premiership is really as uncompetitive as so many say that it is and if the destiny of the title is such a foregone conclusion then I would suggest that it's long past time that Celtic started to use the domestic fixtures to practise playing football properly.
That would involve radical ideas such as:

• retaining possession along the back line instead of passing the ball back for the goalie to punt into touch;
• midfield players making runs off the ball to give the man in possession options to pass:
• attackers having the ability to play accurate, properly weighted passes to their team-mates in the opposition third of the field;
• placing an emphasis on players who have the ability to control the football as opposed to men whose main attribute is that they are ten inches taller than Messi;
• accepting reversals along the way if we're seriously trying to work towards creating an approach to playing football which is consistent with competing with proper football teams at the top level.

Tonight was a comprehensive lesson in how to play football properly. We need to learn from it. It's not the end of the world to lose a football match by five goals. Many top class sides with far greater resources that ours have suffered shocking defeats but our thrashing tonight is long overdue. It's been coming for years at this level and we all know it. It took Barcelona a few tries to work out the solution to their problem against us but now that they've sussed it, we've been completely rumbled.

If we want to avoid the same scenario next season we'd better start practising the basics of proper football immediately.

Teams

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Stats

Barcelona Celtic
Possession
26% 74%
90mins

Shots
20 6

On target
9 4

Corners
10 2

Fouls
11 8

Articles

Barcelona 6-1 Celtic: Neymar humbles Celtic
The Scotsman
http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/barcelona-6-1-celtic-neymar-humbles-celtic-1-3229431
by STEPHEN HALLIDAY AT NOU CAMP

Updated on the 12 December
2013
00:12

Published 11/12/2013 21:36

201 comments
Print this

CELTIC were forced to take a painful dose of their own medicine last night as their Champions League campaign ended in humbling ignominy.

Scorers: Barcelona – Piqué (7), Pedro (39), Neymar (44, 48, 58) Tello (72); Celtic – Samaras (88)

Neil Lennon’s team, whose unchallenged domestic dominance has just seen them dish out 7-0 and 5-0 thrashings to Hearts and Motherwell, were cruelly reminded of their place in the greater scheme of things as they suffered a record-equalling European defeat.

The Scottish champions were completely outclassed by a rampant Barcelona side whose Brazilian prodigy Neymar capped a magnificent individual display with a hat-trick. The 6-1 drubbing matches the margin of defeat Celtic sustained in their infamous 5-0 loss to Artmedia Bratislava in 2005.

Celtic’s final tally of three points in Group H is their lowest ever in a Champions League group stage, the challenge posed by Barcelona, Milan and Ajax way beyond the capabilities of Lennon’s side.

It could easily have been even worse for Celtic last night, Barca spurning a host of other chances, before Georgios Samaras plundered a late consolation for the visitors.

Lennon had spoken on the eve of the match of the need to get “legs” into his team, reasoning that high levels of energy and workrate would be crucial to Celtic’s prospects of limiting the effectiveness of Barcelona during the inevitably lengthy periods of possession the Catalans would command.

There were a few surprising selections in Lennon’s starting line-up, with top scorer Kris Commons and fellow regulars Charlie Mulgrew, as well as Anthony Stokes, having to begin the evening on the substitutes’ bench.

Adam Matthews, fit again after surgery on a collarbone injury which had kept him out of Celtic’s previous ten games, was deployed at left-back in the absence of the suspended Emilio Izaguirre. Captain Scott Brown and Israeli international Nir Biton, both available once more after serving their Uefa bans, were included in an unusual midfield configuration set out by their manager.

Brown was in an advanced position, in support of central striker Teemu Pukki, while Derk Boerrigter and Georgios Samaras were in wider roles either side of Biton and Joe Ledley.

But there was little opportunity for Celtic to try to make the system work for them further up the pitch as their tendency to give the ball away cheaply ensured they were firmly on the back foot from the opening exchanges.

Even before Pique’s early opener for Barcelona, there were a couple of ominously alarming moments for Celtic in their own penalty area. They were perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty in the second minute, Mikael Lustig nudging Neymar in the back as the pair challenged for a Xavi Hernandez cross. The Brazilian’s typical exaggeration in falling to the turf possibly influenced the Russian referee’s decision to turn down the home side’s appeal.

Matthews then betrayed signs of his lack of match sharpness, the Welshman carelessly losing possession just outside the

penalty area. Neymar seized on the error, surging into the box and feeding a pass to Xavi who was crowded out by the alert Virgil van Dijk.

Celtic’s Dutch defender was forced to complete another piece of last-ditch repair work when his superb tackle prevented Neymar converting from close range after great build-up play by Pedro Rodriguez.

But Barcelona finally claimed the goal their early pressure merited. Alexis Sanchez, whose intelligent movement and link-up work with Pedro and Neymar was a constant source of torment to Celtic, stretched the visitors’ defence with a piercing surge. His shot from around 14 yards was deflected off Efe Ambrose and then parried by Fraser Forster. The ball broke into the path of Pique, who knocked it home.

As Barcelona hungrily searched for more goals, Neymar saw a shot blocked by Ambrose after more great work by Sanchez, then the hosts had another penalty claim rightly rejected when Matthews slid in to dispossess Sanchez.

Celtic worked hard to try to subdue a Barcelona side which was clearly in the mood to finish off their group stage campaign in ebullient and convincing fashion. Until the burst of two goals in four minutes just before half-time, it looked as if Lennon’s men might keep the scoreline manageable. They even managed their first serious attempt at goal when Biton’s well-struck long-range shot was blocked by Javier Mascherano.

But Celtic were undone by Barcelona’s ruthlessly effective finish to the first half. They made it 2-0 in the 40th minute, the increasingly influential Neymar gliding beyond Ambrose on the right and cutting the ball back to provide Pedro with a simple tap-in from six yards.

Brown was booked for dissent in the aftermath of the goal, apparently claiming Celtic should have been awarded a free kick in the build-up.

There could be no complaints about the exquisitely created goal which put Barcelona in complete command a minute before the interval. Sanchez befuddled the Celtic defence with a gloriously intuitive lofted pass to find Martin Montoya on the right of the penalty area. The foraging full-back swept the ball across the six-yard box to present Neymar with the easiest chance he could wish for to score his first Champions League goal for Barcelona.

Lennon introduced Mulgrew for Pukki at the start of the second half in an effort to bring greater solidity to his side. But the damage limitation exercise had no time to bed in as Barcelona made it 4-0 just three minutes after the restart.

It was another sublime goal, Sergi Roberto and Neymar linking up initially before the latter’s backheel set up a one-two with Xavi. Receiving the return pass, Neymar moved into the penalty area and drove a left-foot shot high beyond Forster into the corner of the net.

Celtic simply could not cope with the speed of thought and movement which coursed through Barcelona’s play.

There was an air of inevitability about Neymar completing his hat-trick which he duly did in the 65th minute. Played in by his compatriot Adriano, he left Ambrose looking foolish with some delightful footwork before beating Forster with a low shot which Matthews, on the line, was unable to keep out.

It was becoming excruciating to watch for Lennon and his coaching staff and the nightmare continued when Barcelona made it 6-0 seven minutes later.

Substitute Cristian Tello collected a pass from Adriano and his shot deflected off the unfortunate van Dijk beyond Forster into the roof of the net.

Celtic managed to avoid further concession and at least got off the mark with three minutes remaining, Samaras heading home a Mulgrew free kick.

Barcelona: Pinto, Montoya, Mascherano, Pique, Adriano, Roberto, Busquets (Song 73), Xavi, Sanchez (Tello 63), Neymar (Dongou 81), Pedro. Subs not used: Olazabal, Puyol, Alba, Iniesta.

Celtic: Forster, Lustig, Ambrose, Van Dijk, Matthews (Stokes 82), Boerrigter, Biton (Commons 69), Ledley, Samaras, Brown, Pukki (Mulgrew 46). Subs not used: Zaluska, Balde, Atajic, Fisher

BBC
By Alasdair Lamont Senior football reporter, BBC Scotland in Nou Camp, Barcelona

Barcelona handed Celtic the harshest of Champions League lessons by producing a near-perfect display to equal the visitors' heaviest European loss.

Gerard Pique opened the scoring and Barca added two more goals late in the first half through Pedro and Neymar.

Brazilian Neymar, a £49m summer signing from Santos, added two more before the hour mark to complete his hat-trick.

Cristian Tello completed Celtic's misery, with Georgios Samaras's late headed goal scant consolation.
Neymar finding his feet at Barca
Neymar

Neymar, signed from Santos for £49m in the summer, had scored only four goals in his first 18 appearances for the Catalans before tonight.

The result means Neil Lennon's side finish the Champions League group stage with their lowest-ever tally of three points.

And the margin of defeat at the Nou Camp matches the 5-0 loss to Artmedia Bratislava in what was former manager's Gordon Strachan's first match in charge in 2005.

Celtic came into the match having scored 12 and conceded none in their previous two domestic games, while Barcelona had been stung by recent losses to Ajax and Athletic Bilbao.

But this was Barca at their best, inflicting Celtic's 25th away defeat in 27 Champions League matches.

The early signs were worrying for Celtic as they twice gave up cheap possession deep in their own half – and though Barcelona failed to punish them, it was not long before the hosts did take advantage.

Alexis Sanchez drove in from the right and though his shot, which deflected off Efe Ambrose, was kept out by Fraser Forster, Pique was inside the Celtic six-yard box to poke the ball into the net.

Celtic – who had left Charlie Mulgrew and Kris Commons out of the starting line-up – regrouped and kept the Catalans at bay until just before the interval.

That was when the home team stepped up a couple of gears, with Neymar central to all that was good about Tata Martino's side.

Celtic claimed for a handball against Pique, but when that was not forthcoming, Neymar shuffled away from Ambrose before squaring the ball for Pedro, whose exquisite movement to the front post allowed him a straightforward tap-in past Forster.
Celtic despair after conceding a goal in the Nou Camp

Celtic despair after conceding a goal in the Nou Camp

Matters deteriorated further for Celtic moments later at the end of a move that involved innumerable passes. Alexis lifted the ball over the heads of the Celtic defence for Martin Montoya and his pass was swept into the net by the irresistible Neymar.

If that goal was sublime, the fourth was even more majestic. Again it was the Brazilian who finished it following a back-heeled one-two with Xavi, this time curling it past Forster from the edge of the box, and again it was the culmination of a prolonged period of possession.

Forster did manage to keep Xavi's free kick from bulging the net, but he was beaten for a fifth time as Neymar nutmegged Ambrose and claimed his hat-trick, with the beleaguered Adam Matthews unable to knock it off the line.

The brilliant Neymar could have scored another two either side of Tello's strike, which deflected off Virgil van Dijk to leave Forster wrong-footed.

Samaras, who only a year ago had put Celtic ahead in the same stadium, headed Commons' free kick past Pinto in the closing stages and had another effort cleared off the line by Pique, but the winning margin did not flatter Barcelona.

Live Text Commentary
Full time

Full Time Match ends, Barcelona 6, Celtic 1.
90:00 +1:15 Full time

Full Time Second Half ends, Barcelona 6, Celtic 1.
90:00 +0:15

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Gerard Piqué.
90:00 +0:13

Attempt blocked. Georgios Samaras (Celtic) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Kris Commons with a through ball.
89:34

Attempt missed. Cristian Tello (Barcelona) right footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Sergi Roberto.
88:11

Attempt saved. Kris Commons (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner.
87:30 Goal scored

Goal! Goal! Barcelona 6, Celtic 1. Georgios Samaras (Celtic) header from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Charlie Mulgrew with a cross following a set piece situation.
86:46

Foul by Adriano (Barcelona).
86:46

Kris Commons (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
84:29

Offside, Celtic. Kris Commons tries a through ball, but Anthony Stokes is caught offside.
83:43

Foul by Adriano (Barcelona).
83:43

Kris Commons (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
81:43

Foul by Adriano (Barcelona).
81:43

Kris Commons (Celtic) wins a free kick on the right wing.
81:27 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Celtic. Anthony Stokes replaces Adam Matthews.
81:00

Foul by Jean Marie Dongou (Barcelona).
81:00

Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
80:29

Hand ball by Mikael Lustig (Celtic).
80:07 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Barcelona. Jean Marie Dongou replaces Neymar.
79:27

Javier Mascherano (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
79:27

Foul by Derk Boerrigter (Celtic).
78:27

Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Efe Ambrose.
78:25

Attempt blocked. Cristian Tello (Barcelona) right footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Pedro with a through ball.
77:59

Attempt saved. Derk Boerrigter (Celtic) right footed shot from the left side of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Joe Ledley.
77:01

Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Virgil van Dijk.
76:28

Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Adam Matthews.
75:14

Attempt blocked. Neymar (Barcelona) left footed shot from very close range is blocked. Assisted by Pedro.
73:45

Attempt saved. Neymar (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Sergi Roberto.
72:24 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Barcelona. Alexandre Song replaces Sergio Busquets.
71:25 Goal scored

Goal! Goal! Barcelona 6, Celtic 0. Cristian Tello (Barcelona) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Adriano.
69:12

Offside, Barcelona. Pedro tries a through ball, but Cristian Tello is caught offside.
68:50 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Celtic. Kris Commons replaces Nir Biton.
68:22 Booking

Booking Adam Matthews (Celtic) is shown the yellow card.
68:17

Adam Matthews (Celtic) has gone down, but that's a dive.
67:10

Attempt blocked. Pedro (Barcelona) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Xavi.
66:54

Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Adam Matthews.
65:32

Foul by Martín Montoya (Barcelona).
65:32

Derk Boerrigter (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
64:08

Offside, Barcelona. Neymar tries a through ball, but Pedro is caught offside.
63:28

Attempt missed. Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Derk Boerrigter.
62:40 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Barcelona. Cristian Tello replaces Alexis Sánchez.
60:22

Foul by Martín Montoya (Barcelona).
60:22

Joe Ledley (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
57:36 Goal scored

Goal! Goal! Barcelona 5, Celtic 0. Neymar (Barcelona) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Adriano.
56:19

Foul by Sergio Busquets (Barcelona).
56:19

Derk Boerrigter (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
51:03

Attempt blocked. Adriano (Barcelona) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Neymar.
50:44

Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Fraser Forster.
50:42

Attempt saved. Xavi (Barcelona) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top left corner.
50:03

Neymar (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
50:03

Foul by Efe Ambrose (Celtic).
47:30 Goal scored

Goal! Goal! Barcelona 4, Celtic 0. Neymar (Barcelona) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the top left corner. Assisted by Xavi.
45:00

Second Half begins Barcelona 3, Celtic 0.
45:00 Substitution

Substitution Substitution, Celtic. Charlie Mulgrew replaces Teemu Pukki.
45:00 +0:03 Half time

Half Time First Half ends, Barcelona 3, Celtic 0.
43:54 Goal scored

Goal! Goal! Barcelona 3, Celtic 0. Neymar (Barcelona) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Martín Montoya.
40:36 Booking

Booking Sergi Roberto (Barcelona) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
40:11

Foul by Sergi Roberto (Barcelona).
40:11

Virgil van Dijk (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
39:30 Booking

Booking Scott Brown (Celtic) is shown the yellow card.
39:00 Goal scored

Goal! Goal! Barcelona 2, Celtic 0. Pedro (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Neymar.
38:29

Attempt missed. Neymar (Barcelona) left footed shot from the left side of the box is close, but misses to the left. Assisted by Pedro.
36:24

Foul by Adriano (Barcelona).
36:24

Derk Boerrigter (Celtic) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
34:19

Attempt blocked. Nir Biton (Celtic) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Adam Matthews.
33:37

Corner, Celtic. Conceded by Gerard Piqué.
32:37

Attempt blocked. Neymar (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Xavi.
30:41

Hand ball by Sergio Busquets (Barcelona).
29:40

Martín Montoya (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
29:40

Foul by Georgios Samaras (Celtic).
27:43

Offside, Celtic. Virgil van Dijk tries a through ball, but Teemu Pukki is caught offside.
26:46

Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Efe Ambrose.
26:30

Attempt blocked. Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box is blocked. Assisted by Xavi with a cross.
25:45

Sergio Busquets (Barcelona) wins a free kick on the right wing.
25:45

Foul by Joe Ledley (Celtic).
24:48

Alexis Sánchez (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
24:48

Foul by Joe Ledley (Celtic).
24:04

Foul by Martín Montoya (Barcelona).
24:04

Georgios Samaras (Celtic) wins a free kick on the left wing.
22:36

Attempt blocked. Neymar (Barcelona) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Alexis Sánchez with a cross.
21:55

Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Mikael Lustig.
14:50

Sergi Roberto (Barcelona) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
14:50

Foul by Nir Biton (Celtic).
11:24

Offside, Barcelona. Adriano tries a through ball, but Gerard Piqué is caught offside.
10:41

Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Adam Matthews.
9:47

Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Virgil van Dijk.
9:44

Attempt blocked. Martín Montoya (Barcelona) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Alexis Sánchez.
6:15 Goal scored

Goal! Goal! Barcelona 1, Celtic 0. Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) right footed shot from very close range to the high centre of the goal.
6:12

Attempt saved. Alexis Sánchez (Barcelona) left footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Pedro with a through ball.
5:17

Corner, Barcelona. Conceded by Virgil van Dijk.
5:16

Attempt blocked. Neymar (Barcelona) left footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Pedro with a through ball.
3:49

Offside, Celtic. Virgil van Dijk tries a through ball, but Derk Boerrigter is caught offside.
0:00

First Half begins.
0:00

Lineups are announced and players are warming up.

Live data and text provided by our data suppliers

BBC

Champions League: Neil Lennon hurt by weak Celtic performance

Neil Lennon says Celtic's "half-hearted" show in the Champions League loss to Barcelona was "unacceptable".

The 6-1 defeat at the Nou Camp equalled their heaviest European loss.

"I wouldn't say some players gave up but it certainly looked that way at times," said manager Lennon.

"I'd never accuse a player of doing that but there were a lot of half-hearted performances out there. As a manager that's the most disappointing aspect of the whole game."

Barca forward Neymar scored a hat-trick as Celtic were completely outplayed, falling to the same margin of defeat as their humbling at Artmedia in 2005.

"There were only two or three players that showed anything; [Virgil] van Dijk, [Adam] Matthews and [Mikael] Lustig," said Lennon.

“Looking at the team, I sensed they were a little bit quieter before the game, so we tried to get them motivated for going out there”

Neil Lennon Celtic manager

"I excuse the goalkeeper in that as well. But the rest of the team were very, very poor – well below the standards they've set themselves over the past few years.

"Barcelona were fantastic, as we expected them to be. But we were very poor. For some of the players that was an unacceptable performance.

"It was nowhere near reminiscent of the performances we've put in previously against Barcelona.

"There was no bravery on the ball tonight. We started off nervously and it looked like our heads went down at 2-0.

"We changed it and tried to be a little bit more defensive by going 4-5-1 but that didn't stop the blood flowing."

Gerard Pique began the onslaught in the seventh minute before Pedro doubled Tata Martino's side's lead.

Neymar's hat-trick came from delightful combined team moves with wonderful individual skill from the Brazilian.

Cristian Tello rounded the scoring off for the hosts, leaving Georgios Samaras to head in a late consolation goal.
Celtic manager Neil Lennon

Lennon thought several of his players underperformed at the Nou Camp

"We came here on the back of two great results at home and with an idea of trying to finish the group with some sort of positive result," added Lennon.

"I didn't get the performance and I certainly didn't get the result. I'm angry and I'm disappointed but it's something I have to get over very quickly.

"We'll have to analyse it and look at the character that was there tonight – there wasn't much in that.

"Looking at the team, I sensed they were a little bit quieter before the game, so we tried to get them motivated for going out there.

"But you could see straight away there were some really loose passes and we didn't play anywhere near our strengths.

"Some players didn't do the jobs they were assigned to do."

Lennon touched on the difficult balancing act he has in trying to sign Champions League-quality players in the short space of time after guaranteeing qualification for the tournament's group stage.

This season's acquisitions have failed to match up to the contribution of the likes of Victor Wanyama and Gary Hooper, who moved to Southampton and Norwich respectively.

"Players sometimes won't come unless you've got Champions League football guaranteed," he added.

"Then after that it's pretty difficult to attract the right kind of player that you want in a two-week window."