Something inside so strong

 

                                               Something inside so strong

As I was driving through Glasgow’s east end today, the car radio was playing a programme called ‘Soul Music.’ Despite the name, the show looks at the emotional impact of music of various genres on people. Today’s programme was about Labi Siffre’s song ‘something inside so strong.’ Siffre wrote the song in 1984 after watching a documentary on apartheid South Africa. He also stated that some of the lyrics reflected his life growing up as a gay man in less kind times. As various people spoke of the emotional impact of the song on their lives, I was surprised to hear a Scottish voice talking about the song and what it meant to him as a Celtic supporter.

Those of you who follow Celtic will know of the persecution of Neil Lennon during his time as a Celtic player and manager. The abuse he suffered in Scotland ranged from moronic barracking at certain stadiums, physical assault in the street and on the touchline, as well as receiving bullets and bombs in the post. Add to this the day-to-day low-level hassles which made even popping out for a pint a challenging experience. It remains a disgrace that anyone was treated in that manner in our country. Mark Cameron of the Arthur McKenna, Lochgelly CSC said on the radio show….

‘It has been a cult song for sections of the Celtic support for years. It’s a powerful, emotional song which has real meaning for sections of the support. I think because parts of the support have been marginalised in society. Something inside so strong means a lot to Neil as it epitomised his life story. He has been the subject of racist and sectarian abuse both her in Glasgow and in his native Northern Ireland.  In 2008 he was attacked while out socialising in the west end of Glasgow, then he was also sent parcel bombs in the post. In 2011 he was attacked at his work at Tynecastle Park.’

The song really resonated with Celtic fans at that time. Celtic played it before a game with Motherwell and Neil must have taken great comfort from hearing 60,000 fans singing it in support of him. Journalist Graham Spiers hit the nail on the head when musing on why Neil Lennon was singled out for the abuse he endured in Scotland…

‘Lennon embodies the very thing that some residual bigots in Scottish society and Scottish football cannot stand: a visible, vocal and successful Irish Catholic who doesn’t shirk from anything. This is too much for some to bear.’

Lennon’s time as a player at Celtic came at time when Martin O’Neill was building what some consider to be the best Celtic side since the Stein era. His 7 years at the club saw him win 5 titles, 4 Scottish cups and 2 league cups. He was also a part of the Celtic side which made it to their first European final in 33 years during that never to be forgotten run to Seville in 2003. All through those years, he lived with the pressure of being a ‘hate’ figure to some in Scottish football. He was clear about why he was picked on. There have been other players in Scottish football as annoyingly feisty as Lennon; one can think of Strachan, Souness or even Scott Brown, but none of them received the level of sheer vitriol Lennon did. He himself said in later years, why he thought this was…

‘Everyone tries to skirt around it but that’s the basis of it, has been since 2000. The first day I stepped onto Windsor Park (Belfast) as a Celtic player I was booed every time I touched the ball having previously played 36 times and had nothing. But with my association with Celtic being high profile, there’s no doubt in my mind that that was behind it and it’s what you want to call it; you call it sectarianism here in Scotland, I call it racism. If a black man is abused, you are not just abusing the colour of his skin, you are abusing his culture, his heritage, his background. It’s the exact same when I get called a Fenian, a pauper, a beggar, a tarrier by these people with their sense of entitlement and superiority complex. All I do is stand up for myself.’

Lennon, of course, managed Celtic too and brought further success to the club, leading them to 5 more titles, 4 Scottish Cups and 1 league cup. His entire career at Celtic as a player and manager saw him help the club to 10 titles, 8 Scottish Cups and 3 League cups. He also got the side to the last 16 in the Champions league and gave the fans some memorable nights in Europe. Yet, there lingers still among some Celtic fans a sour taste about the events of the so called ‘covid season’ or 2020-21. Lennon was let down by his players, that’s for sure. Playing in empty stadiums seemed to be something of a leveller when it came to Celtic and Rangers deservedly won their first title in a decade.

The abuse Neil Lennon received from a minority of Celtic fans in that ‘Annus horribilis’ of 2021 will, I’m sure make some of them blush when they look back on it. Football is a results driven business and there is no doubt that Celtic were awful that year. There were extenuating circumstances with the world-wide pandemic, expensive signings not showing up well and injuries, but the manager is always likely to be the fall guy. He’s the lightening rod who takes the flak from fans when things aren’t going well. The fact that Celtic totally blew a chance to win ten in a row compounded the misery of that season and somewhere amid all the hysteria some went overboard and displayed a level of petulance that is born of an unhealthy sense of entitlement.

I recall Jock Stein’s last year at Celtic in 1977-78. Celtic had a dreadful season, finishing 5^th in the league, going out of the cup to second tier Kilmarnock and failing to qualify for European football. People accepted that it was a bad year but recognised that injuries to key players (McGrain & Stanton) as well as Dalglish moving on in the pre-season contributed to the forgettable displays that year. No one questions the legacy or legendary status of Jock Stein based on that one season. Neil Lennon was clearly no Jock Stein, as he himself would admit, but his time at Celtic seems to be remembered more by some for failing to make it ten in a row, than for his many achievements at the club. He contributed to Celtic winning 21 major trophies and that, in my eyes, is deserving of respect.

Did he make mistakes as manager? Yes, you could argue he should have stepped aside sooner in that dreadful 2020-21 season, but as this pugnacious Irishman demonstrated on many occasions, he was never one for backing down or walking away from a challenge. I hope in years to come that the vast majority of Celtic fans will see what he achieved at Celtic and what he endured on and off the field to do so. As a fan, player and manager, he gave his all for the club. We can ask no more than that.

He stood up to the haters in society and in doing so represented Celtic with fire and determination. Like the club he loved, he faced obstacles that had little to do with football and succeeded despite them all. Like all Celts, he’d nod at the words of the song I heard on the radio today…

‘Brothers and sisters, when they insist, we’re just not good enough
Well, we know better, just look them in the eyes and say
We’re gonna do it anyway, we’re gonna do it anyway.’