Celtic Neil Lennon: It’s time for Artur to work harder

Celtic coach Neil Lennon has warned Artur Boruc he needs to work harder to win his
form back.

A string of high-profile errors from the Polish stopper has sparked an inquest at
Parkhead into what has gone wrong with a keeper rated in the £10million bracket just last summer.

Criticised for his weight by some, others believe Boruc’s mind is in the wrong place after a messy divorce and a string of off-field headlines

Today’s Daily Mail has the story.

Just last weekend the keeper admitted 2008 had been the ‘worst year of (his) life’.

Last weekend’s glaring blunder in the Scottish Cup clash with Dundee has now brought the issue to a head and former Celtic captain Lennon admits Boruc’s form has become a ‘concern’.

‘I think it’s a concern for him and for us as well,’ Lennon told Celtic TV. ‘We will have to have a look at that and address it. It is probably a concentration thing more than anything but we all make mistakes. When a goalkeeper makes them, they are highlighted even more.

‘But he will have to knuckle down and work a wee bit harder at his all-round game. ‘I don’t think he needs a rest, but I do think he will have to come in and put it to one side.
We have been over this before.

‘He is a strong character and he always comes back from it, but he has got to put everything into training and I’m sure he’ll start feeling better about himself again.’

Lennon believes Boruc can learn from his younger team-mate Scott Brown. The former Hibs midfielder has recovered from an indifferent start to his Parkhead career and the loss of his sister to cancer to emerge as a contender for Player of the Year, scoring against Dundee last weekend.

‘He took his goal well,’ noted Lennon. ‘He had a bit of luck with the rebound but he earned it. Hopefully he can keep building on the platform he has given himself and
take his game on.

‘I don’t know what the difference is between this year and last. He’s maybe had a look at some of the discipline problems he had last year and he has more or less cut that out completely this year.’

Meanwhile, Celtic are poised to run a check on the Croatian midfielder known as the new Robert Prosinecki.

Anas Sharbini has set his sights on leaving First Division club Rijeka and would welcome a move to the SPL. The 21-year-old admits, however, that he would prefer to remain in his homeland for a year or two in order to force his way back into the Croatian national team.

Rated in the £2.5million bracket, Sharbini said: ‘I want to leave Rijeka. I hope this will be resolved as soon as possible but, for now, I don’t know anything. The club will decide.

‘I have offers from Croatia and also from abroad. I would really love to stay in Croatia
for one or two more years so I can return to the national team.’

Agent Sanjin Ugarkovic told Sportsmail: ‘We know there is interest from Celtic and we are very pleased about that. It would be a great thing for the player to go there.