Neil Lennon will be forced to watch Saturday’s William Hill Championship clash with Greenock Morton from the stands at KDM Group East End Park after the Scottish FA confirmed his one match touchline ban.
The Pars boss picked up his third yellow card of the season during the Pars last match, the 2-2 draw with St Johnstone, triggering an automatic suspension under the governing body’s disciplinary rules. The accumulation of three cautionable offences in league competition carries a fixed one match ban, which takes effect seven days after the third booking.
The yellow card that took Neil Lennon over the threshold came after he threw a water bottle down in frustration at what he described as “another missed chance” from his side against Saints.
“I don’t think I needed to be booked for that,” Neil said after that match. “I’m not having a go at the referee or anything, I was just annoyed at my own team not scoring when they were playing so well.”
His earlier booking in the opening day draw at Cappielow came not from any disagreement with officials but after he was penalised for having what he called “a bit of fun” with a supporter in the main stand above the dugouts.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s match, the manager made no secret of his frustration at the situation:-
“Obviously it’s different. It’s not nice, I don’t like it. I’m not happy with the three yellow cards. One of them was pretty pedantic. I think it’s well over the top. I’m just going to have to sit this one out, get all the prep work done with my staff and hopefully get through the game okay.”
The touchline ban extends beyond simply being absent from the dugout. SPFL rules mean Neil cannot enter the playing zone – including the dressing room and tunnel area – for 75 minutes before kick-off or for 15 minutes after the final whistle. That presents particular challenges for a manager who likes to deliver instructions and encouragement to his players throughout matches.
“Obviously the team board is decided the day before. Most of the players have a fair idea,” Neil explained. “Then you go and speak to them, come out and speak to them before they go out again. It’s just a couple of bullet points really. What we want from them.”
Asked whether he would bring the squad in earlier to accommodate his team talk before the exclusion period begins, Neil said the routine would remain largely unchanged: “Not really. It’ll just be normal. I’ll just have to leave when the allotted time comes.”
The biggest impact, he believes, will be during the 90 minutes themselves.
“It’ll just be communication,” he said of what will matter on matchday. “It does to me because I like being right in the thick of it. I don’t know how it’ll affect the players. Hopefully it’ll be fine. Like I say, we will get all the prep work done. I can’t be around them, it’s ridiculous, it’s so puritanical. I’ll just leave it to the coaches. We’re working on finding out the best way to communicate.”
Assistant duties will fall to his assistant Iain Brunskill and first team coach Kevin McDonald, with whom Neil will work to establish communication methods for Saturday’s contest. Dunfermline will be looking to build on their recent good form, having collected eleven points from their last six fixtures to climb to fifth in the Championship table.
