Neil Lennon stunned by Jack Butland question after Rangers loss v Celtic
Neil Lennon was left shaking his head after it was suggested that Rangers fans would prefer to see Jack Butland taking a penalty over Cyriel Dessers against Celtic.
Speaking on Premier Sports (15 December), Lennon and Michael Stewart debated why Philippe Clement didn’t pick Dessers to take a penalty over the likes of Butland and Ridvan Yilmaz in the Scottish League Cup final.
Dessers had only come off the bench 19 minutes before the shoot-out, but it was Yilmaz who missed before Daizen Maeda won it for Celtic, finishing 5-4 in the penalties after a 3-3 draw.
Stewart kicked off the debate, saying: “I don’t know whether they thought he hadn’t been on long enough to be up to speed, but as a striker, I’m thinking you would want that.
“There is that perception with Dessers, I don’t know if half the Rangers supporters would be nervous.”
“Would they prefer to see Jack Butland stepping up?” he was asked, to which Lennon could only tut.
Rangers penalty decision showcases Cyriel Dessers fall from grace
Not starting your top scorer in the biggest game of the season so far could be seen as strange at first glance, but Hamza Igamane has proven himself to be the main man.
However, with Dessers finally on the pitch in extra time and unable to add to his 12 goals in open play, even the most pessimistic Gers fan would have backed him to tuck away a penalty in the shoot-out.
Clement therefore selecting Butland and even Yilmaz above his number nine for the spot-kicks was indeed a baffling decision, even if the Bears’ number one did score to keep his team in it.
Yilmaz, who took the Light Blues’ fourth penalty, proved to be the player who failed to find the net, making Clement’s choice to overlook Dessers all the more baffling.
Dessers had been on the pitch for long enough to step up and take a penalty in the bid to prevent losing the League Cup to their biggest rivals, and though he may well have been sixth on the list, Celtic prevented the shoot-out from getting that far.
In other Rangers news, James Taylor revealed why Gers haven’t been able to reap the rewards of a major cost-cutting measure.
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