Being a manager of a club that expects wins almost every time they take to the pitch can be a daunting prospect, although it is one that is felt when in the dugout at Celtic.
Neil Lennon will be well aware of the pressure that surrounds the role he has at Celtic Park and will know that the Bhoys’ faithful will demand the very best from their team 100% of the time.
However, things have gone far from smoothly for the club this season as they seek to claim their tenth Scottish Premiership title in a row and arch-rivals Rangers appear to be in great form and could potentially spoil the party for those in Glasgow.
Results have been incredibly poor for the Hoops as they have struggled and fallen six points behind the Light Blues already, which is reflected in the title odds from bookmaker reviews, although they do have a game in hand over their Old Firm foes to try and get them back within touching distance.
As Graham Spiers wrote in his The Times column, the manager has had his detractors in the past and it seems that they are only set to grow in their numbers following a third poor result. Their draw against Aberdeen was truly disappointing as they had looked set to take all three points before conceding their second penalty of the afternoon in the final minutes of stoppage time.
And, their problem might be that they failed to address certain areas in the squad with the most recent transfer window. Although they may have signed individuals to compete in the squad, they have failed to really add significant quality and have, perhaps, been a downgrade on the players that they had lost in the past.
Vasilis Barkas, on paper, looked to be a great successor to the outgoing Fraser Forster - who returned to Southampton following his loan spell - however he has been anything but solid. The Greek goalkeeper has made 14 competitive appearances for the club since arriving, but he is yet to record a save of note and has gone on to concede 11 goals. Admittedly, he has gone on to keep eight clean sheets which is no small feat but it could suggest he is not consistent or he concedes more than one when he does concede in a match.
Kieran Tierney may have left in August 2019, however the club have failed to replace him thus far. Greg Taylor was brought in as his immediate replacement but he has arguably struggled, whilst Diego Laxalt came in this summer on a loan deal with the hopes of fixing the issue.
The attack, though, is one huge area of concern for Lennon and one that despite having made significant additions, still looks far from good enough when Odsonne Edouard is unavailable for whatever reason.
Naturally, with a player of his ability, Celtic have heavily relied upon the Frenchman in recent years especially as Leigh Griffiths has struggled with his fitness. Individuals such as Patryk Klimala and Albian Ajeti have all arrived in recent transfer windows, but there may be some concern regarding their form at the moment. The West Ham United loanee started brightly but has since hit a barren run.
On top of that, Lennon’s shift from a 4-2-3-1 formation to a system of 3-5-2 does not appear to have paid dividends, whilst his decision to use a 4-3-3 shape at Pittodrie against Aberdeen at the weekend may have seen goals scored, but defensively they looked fragile.
If things do not improve in the immediate future, with fixtures against the likes of St. Mirren, Motherwell and Hibernian all to come next in the Scottish Premiership, Celtic could find themselves way behind their arch-rivals at the top of the division and out of distance.
If Lennon is not already feeling the pressure before then, he certainly should be if things do not change.