Lennon, Neil

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Fullname: Neil Francis Lennon
aka: Neil Lennon, Lenny
Born: 25 June 1971
Birthplace: Lurgan (N Ireland)
Height: 5.09
Signed (player): 8 Dec 2000
Left (player): 12 June 2007
Position: Midfielder (Holding, Defensive)
Debut: Dundee 1 – 2 Celtic, SPL, 10th December 2000
Squad No.:18
Internationals: N Ireland
International Caps: 39 caps
International Goals: 2 goals
Manager (1st stint): Mar 2010 – June 2010 (Caretaker); 9 June 2010 – 22 May 2014 (Manager)
Manager (2nd stint): 26 Feb 2019 – 31 May 2019 (Interim Manager); 31 May 2019 – 24 Feb 2021 (Manager)
Succeeding: Tony Mowbray (1st stint); Brendan Rodgers (2nd stint)
Successor: Ronnie Deila (1st stint); John Kennedy (interim) / Ange Postecoglu (2nd stint)

Summary

Born on the 25th June 1971, in Lurgan
Martin O’Neill signed Lennon from his former club Leicester City in December of 2000 for £5.75m after initially missing out in securing his signature in August.
Lennon made Celtic captain in 2005.
Lennon signed a 1 year extension to his deal in 2006.
Lennon scored 2 goals in 39 appearances for Northern Ireland
Lennon announces he was to depart at end of season [BBC]
Lennon leaves Celtic and signs for Nottingham Forest, 12 June 2007 [BBC]
On 3 April 2008 Celtic announced that Neil Lennon would be joining the coaching staff to work with Gordon Strachan.
Following a 4 – 0 defeat to St Mirren the shambolic reign of Tony Mowbray ends on 25th March 2010 and Lennon is appointed caretaker manager [STV].
On 9th June 2010 Lennon was appointed Celtic manager [BBC]. He departed in 2014 after three league titles and two Scottish Cups.
Managed Celtic to defeat Barcelona, who at that time were regarded as having one of the finest sides of all time with players like Messi. Regarded as one of the finest victories in the club’s history, and a result that sent shockwaves throughout the game. Lennon and the club received more plaudits for this than anything else achieved in his time from across the globe.
Returned to Celtic in Feb 2019 as interim manager following sudden departure of Brendan Rodgers, then made permanent manager in the summer.
Managed Celtic to nine-in-a-row league titles (equalling the title), 2019-20.
Became the first person to achieve a domestic treble as both a player (2000/01) and as a manager (2019/20).

Biog

“If you gave me £12m I couldn’t guarantee finding someone with a winning mentality like Neil Lennon’s.” Gordon Strachan (2012)

“If you gave me £12m I couldn’t guarantee finding someone with a winning mentality like Neil Lennon’s.”
Gordon Strachan (2012)

When Neil Lennon arrived at Celtic to sign on, he could never believe what was to be in store for him. It was to be his entire being from that point onwards. His funnily bleach blond hair made him look at first a little comical and masked the true fighter underneath it all.

Signed by Martin O’Neill as a holding midfielder, his presence on the pitch was meant to bolster the defensive aspect of the team and cover for the more attack minded players and do the unglamorous defensive roles in the middle of the park. As it happened, this was all turned on its head, and he himself needed the club and fans to cover for himself off the pitch. There have been far fewer players in any club’s history who has been as victimised as Neil Lennon by others, and his struggle to be able to just live his life has been a difficult one.

The strange thing is that much of this write-up will be about anything apart from what was on the pitch! Surprising, as there is still a hell of a lot of good to say for what happened on the pitch as off it. He was a talented midfielder, but having taken on a more defensive holding role in the side (reflected in that he only scored three goals for us in seven years) he was one for the more avid fan to be able to understand and appreciate than anyone else. Football is a team game and not just about the goalscorers, and every great side needs players like Neil Lennon who do the graft work that gives the space for the others to score the goals.

Arriving in December 2000, Celtic had already got off well from the starting blocks with Celtic manager Martin O’Neill (who was also his former manager at Leicester), and Neil Lennon was brought in to build on the early success the team at that point was enjoying. Slotting into the Celtic side, he gave the attacking players a bit more comfort that he was behind them to assist, and effectively allowed the team to be more daring in attack than if he wasn’t there. Many people who only watch matches on TV don’t always appreciate the work that is done on the pitch by some players off the ball, and there were few players who worked as hard as Neil Lennon in this area. Some Celtic fans could find him frustrating as he was not averse to playing the ball back to the defence but in the course of a 90min game this is intelligent play, and you can’t just attack at all times (possession is key).

One initial issue was a potential clash with fans’ favourite Paul Lambert. Both played similar roles and it was thought this would create problems, but this was back in the day when having having more than one holding midfielder would have been seen as a luxury or excessive. Regardless, Martin O’Neill re-jigged the midfield and all fitted into place, with Lennon admittedly doing much of the thankless shovel work.

His time at Celtic was marked with success in a golden era, including two league titles in his first two years but the Road to Seville season (2002/03) was one of the greatest highlights to reach a European trophy final. As with others, he was overshadowed by Larsson, Sutton and other goal scorers, but he never complained and just got on with his job. Needling players to defend from the midfield, compete for the ball and cover for the others, he more than showed his value, and it was sad to see players like himself being on the losing side in the UEFA Cup when they deserved so much more. Having played throughout the bulk of Martin O’Neill’s tenure at Celtic, his favoured place will be assured with the other more lauded players during that golden period.

As a reflection of his importance to the team and the club, he was made captain of the side in 2005, a well-earned accolade. It was also a measure of his dedication to the side, continuing under new Celtic manager Gordon Strachan.

He did state that if Celtic had achieved going through the group stages in the Champions League then that would count for more than the UEFA Cup Final (something Rangers fans liked to bring up when they achieved the feat first), and in 2006 his face was full of joy as the interviewer informed him that Celtic had qualified to the knock-out stages after defeating Man Utd 1-0. There are few other players for whom you could have felt as happy for.

As happens too often, Lennon stayed a season longer than he probably should have at Celtic. His pace was slowing down making him less effective in his position, and in turn he became too easy a target for the moaners (they need a target to keep themselves occupied). Nevertheless, he captained the side to the league title for the second year in a row and he never gave less than his all.

After his last game for the club (as a player) he gave a post-match farewell thank you speech. However, the travelling Aberdeen fans were giving him lip throughout his speech, and so he politely requested for the “sheep shaggers” to be quiet for a minute. All in jest, and in fairness the Aberdeen fans didn’t take the hump. Fun & cheeky ending to his playing day for Lennon (and the Celtic support love him for it). An additional note of sadness for the support on his departure at seeing another link from the “Road to Seville” on his way.

Controversy – whilst as a player

So what exactly was the issue with Lennon for many people out-with of Celtic? The simple answer is that he was a Roman Catholic Irish man who studied at St Micheal’s Grammar school, was raised in Northern Ireland, and then chose to sign for Celtic. Myths, lies and propaganda then were fabricated about him by Rangers fans and other in-bred fans from other Scottish clubs to supposedly justify (sic!) their barracking of him. Whole spates of non-incidents followed him as most people seemed to form delusions to try to convince themselves that Lennon was a bigot (not that he ever did or say anything bigoted to supposedly demonstrate that he was).

Notable was his departure from the Northern Ireland squad. He had to endure abuse at Windsor Park for having signed for Celtic – death threats were made against him and his family by Loyalist terrorists – and it led to his decision to have to prematurely end his international career. On choosing a political football XI, Simon Kuper (a respected international football journalist) chose Neil Lennon to be represented in the side due to the Northern Ireland incidents. Bigots had beaten him in in Ulster, but they weren’t to defeat him in Scotland, yet they still made his life difficult and it was a challenge.

Bigoted abuse was relentless against Lennon, clearly showing that there were still many in Scotland who were stuck in the cesspits of the 17th Century. One episode happened at the end of a game against Rangers, where Neil Lennon went up to the Rangers fans and made a mock sign of smoking a cigar (you can take from what you want). What did they claim? They claimed that he spat at them (!) and that he made sectarian remarks. A set of Rangers fans even paid a lip reader to try and “prove” this claim (they couldn’t). How someone was supposed to hear and witness him supposedly from so far away from the stands is not possible, and it just shows the low levels they were willing to go to try to blacken Lennon’s name. It was all a bizarre fantasy in their heads and it was all just a disgrace.

The whole bigotry against Lennon matter came to a head in November 2004, when after a torrid time in another game against Rangers, Martin O’Neill defiantly took Lennon back onto the pitch, and he went to the Celtic support to show his support and backing after Lennon had endured an afternoon of “racial and sectarian abuse“. Papers wrote full write-ups on the events, and Graham Speirs (a respected journalist) later noted in a book he wrote that this shook David Murray (Rangers’ chairman) to act more decisively on the issue in fear of UEFA repercussions. The way that Martin O’Neill handled it was brave and deserving of respect, and both he and Neil Lennon had become reluctant heroes in this respect.

In all honesty, Neil Lennon was no angel. In one incident at the end of a match, he even ended up in a spat with fellow team mate Aiden McGeady. It was more handbags at ten paces but was a ridiculous spectacle. The problem was that he was just an over emotional guy. In a frank admission, he admitted later to having had serious problems with depression, but he has had the strength to speak about it publicly and hopefully other footballers can learn from his experiences. In any case, even when Lennon did go awry it was never offensive let alone sectarian.

In years to come Lennon’s time at Celtic will be seen as an important point in the whole divide issue. Celtic have always been an open club – though not denying a handful of events that have gone against Celtic’s ethos over the years – and Neil Lennon’s treatment by other Scottish clubs’ fans really showed that the country have many who are deaf, dumb or blind to reality, and this was notable even amongst various pockets of people who weren’t just Rangers fans. Lennon stuck through it all and the support stuck by him. That more than anything else is a real measure of success of Lennon’s time as a player at Celtic.

We wish that it would have been possible to have just been able to talk about his performances on the pitch. However, when the next player comes from a similar background to Lennon’s and he does not have to go through what Neil Lennon went through, then it will be time to happily reflect on the real victory for the Celtic ethos and on Lennon’s part in this change.

However, matters were to get even worse when he became the Celtic manager with the bigots going into overdrive, with the press heavily pandering to them. Absolute disgrace.

Celtic Coach & Manager (2010-14)

In 2008, following Tommy Burn’s stepping down due to illness, Neil Lennon was appointed to the Coaching Staff (under Gordon Strachan), and very welcome he was too. It was a successful move as Celtic won the league in incredible nail-biting style, but the next season was a disaster and Gordon Strachan left at the end of it all.

He remained at Celtic under the new regime of Tony Mowbray, but was mostly in the background, which in retrospect was good for his reputation as Mowbray’s reign collapsed.

In March 2010, Lennon was appointed as the interim manager after Tony Mowbray was sacked after a long line of failings on the pitch. It was a turnaround for Lennon. Despite being said to be a popular coach amongst the players, stories abounded on the Celtic online forums of some poor treatment and sidelining by the Tony Mowbray & Peter Grant regime, which didn’t go well with the general support. The whole truth isn’t fully known to be fair to Mowbray & Grant, but the stories had helped to fuel Lennon’s popularity with the aggrieved support.

Anyhow, now in charge on an interim basis, the question was how he was to handle the transition. A brave start with some good wins turned things, only to see it crash as Celtic were knocked out by lowly Ross County in the Scottish Cup. It was embarrassing, and the players had let Lennon down. The result wasn’t wholly his fault, but the damage from previous regime was continuing to hamper progress. He let the players clearly know his feelings:

“See projects? Forget it. I’m sick of hearing it. I’m sick of hearing about two- and three-year plans. I don’t buy into it. It’s about now. You don’t have time as a Celtic or Rangers manager. Projects are something my daughter does at school. I’m a football man, only interested in results, performances and players. I don’t care about two years’ time. I might not bloody be here.”

On 9 June 2010, Neil Lennon was confirmed as the full manager of Celtic. In truth, there wasn’t a long list of candidates for the job. Scottish Football was at a low ebb and the club could neither afford or entice a big name manager from England or the Continent to come on board. However, that is no slight on Lennon. A good spell in charge meant he was a fair choice, but in truth there was a large degree of scepticism taking in account his short experience in coaching and lack of prep for management.

2010-11
In his first full season in charge, Lennon would galvanise the support by producing an entertaining and winning team. The campaign took a while to get going and after early disappointments in Europe the team took a little while to gel. But his signings – particularly Izaguirre, Hooper, Ledley and Kayal – were on the whole superb acquisitions and by the start of the new year the Bhoys were in impressive form.

Ultimately though the season will forever be overshadowed by the shocking treatment of Lennon by some sick sections of Scottish society. Bullets, death threats, bombs and assaults would all ensure Lenny was never far from the front page.

Sadly, although there were a few examples of excellent reporting of the issues at hand, some in the media were far from innocent in this whole shameful saga. Ever eager to vilify Lennon, mostly for simply doing his job, some reporters added fuel to the fire. The Celtic manager was regularly and severely criticised for speaking out about referees, and reacting to provocation from the likes of Ally McCoist and El Hadj Diouf. Meanwhile other managers – such as Craig Brown – were all but ignored for behaviour far worse than that displayed by Neil Lennon.

On the pitch Celtic would fall short of claiming the title with Rangers taking another tainted championship. It was hard to take for a team who had played the best football in Scotland and which had frequently dominated the Ibrox side in encounters. But there was some consolation when the Bhoys claimed the Scottish Cup with a 3-0 win over Motherwell at Hampden.

It should have been a better season, but Celtic let it slip yet there were signs of progress, and hope for a better challenge next season.

2011-12
Season 2010-11 saw Celtic make considerable progress under Neil Lennon and there is considerable confidence about the season ahead. That confidence was underlined on 20th June 2011 when Lenny was awarded a lucrative new 12 month rolling contract.

If you were to describe the 2011-12 season to anyone for Neil Lennon, then it would be best said that it was a season that no scriptwriter could necessarily beat. It was an emotional and topsy-turvy season that saw Lennon plumb the depths of despair to rise again and claim the SPL crown for the first time.

Unlike the previous season where Lennon was given the benefit of the doubt as he was a rookie manager and due to the off-field circumstances, there was less leeway this time. Against Rangers who had a rookie manager, Celtic were favourites and many felt Celtic were to cruise it. Things aren’t always as easy as that, and that’s what proved to be the case.

Domestically, after a fair but unconvincing start, Celtic hit a rut which deepened over the coming months. The good form from last season was deserting the team, although injuries weren’t helping. The team were poor to watch and Lennon’s team was clearly not managing tactics well. Rangers despite being bereft of any talent, pulled ahead by an incredible 15pts by end-Nov (albeit Celtic had two games in hand). It was an embarrassing situation, and opinion on Lennon’s judgement and management were at rock bottom. There were few if any apologists, but most importantly the most patient were the board members who stuck by him even though most fans were of the opinion that it was all over for him.

One game sticks out the most: the 3-3 league match with Kilmarnock. The fans were heated over Lennon, and this match was a hoped for respite. Yet by half-time in an abject display, Celtic were amazingly 3-0 down! A fight-back led by Stokes and Mulgrew amazingly brought Celtic within a hairs breadth of a victory but 3-3 was a fine and undeserved result. However, the support little celebrated the result, it being more seen as two points dropped. Lennon admitted himself later that at half-time that he thought it was all over. It didn’t appear to be an aberration either to many.

As for the press, the Daily Record had nailed its colours to the mast early on, and little difference from elsewhere. After wrongly disallowing a fair goal by Wilson in the opening match, they ran a backpage story twisting Lennon’s words and making a mountain out of a molehill. The paper was in the wrong and portrayed him out to be a walking timebomb. It was out of order but an early reminder of the underhand agenda that many outwith of the club had against Lennon. An easy target for too many and the support’s backing was vital. There was little better from there on in from the press.

Away from Scotland, in Europe, a disastrous early season saw Celtic out of Europe in the UEFA Cup qualifiers embarrassingly, only to be then re-instated by UEFA after FC Sion were found to have played ineligible players. Despite the reprieve it didn’t help Lennon’s reputation. The criticisms of him being tactically inept were gathering steam having lost against some poor opposition.

Things were to change, not rapidly but they did. The league was believed to be over, and without the pressure the players played far better and began an incredible run of wins. At the same time Rangers began to slump and by the time of the match in the December game, the victory meant Celtic had leapfrogged them. Lennon was deserving of the praise having turned the side around! After all the criticism (much from even the Celtic support), he didn’t walk away or make excuses. He galvanised the players and Celtic were now on top. Celtic stayed that way from then on in to take the title.

Back in Europe, Celtic didn’t qualify from their Europa League group. A poor start saw the team re-group and pull some great performances out the hat. It was a good learning curve for all. Lennon all hoped would have picked up a lot.

For Lennon, he was bringing through the players, and they were all behind him. The performances were getting better and he was increasingly getting the hand of management. Problematically, he admitted that he didn’t bother with tactics. Naïve and daft comment, and if true then it didn’t bode too well, and in the cups this showed, where Celtic lost to Kilmarnock in a poor performance in the league cup final and then lost to Hearts in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup. For a side that was coasting the league, it was baffling how they had succumbed so poorly in the cups. All thought Celtic would win the treble, but Lennon was satisfied with the league at least. However it still brought out concerns over his managerial ability. Why were Celtic still losing crunch games?

Lennon could take a lot from this season. It was also the collapse of Rangers on and off-field that will privately give Lennon the most satisfaction after the league title.

Must add that off-field, matter were as hard as ever. Rangers & Press continued to press Lennon as being some kind of villain. He wasn’t. He was no better or worse than others. It was deflection from Rangers’ predicament. Pathetic.

Additionally, Lennon had to manage after the unexpected death of a lawyer friend who had also been sent a potential explosive device the previous season. The court case was difficult for Lennon but saw the defendants jailed for their actions. Lennon had to later sack friend and colleague Alan Thompson at the end of the season due to Thompson’s personal problems impinging on his role. A difficult move.

Moving forward, Lennon had to show mettle and tactical nous. His apprenticeship was over. Tactics brought the Celtic side down previously and the support wanted to be ahead on this balance for a change. He’d done well with transfers and it was hoped this was to continue. The young squad was maturing and needed a hand to take the club to the next level.

It was a brave new world with Rangers gone now for Scottish Football. Question for Celtic, how would Lennon adjust to the change with the main rivals gone?

2012-13
This was to be quite a transitional year for Lennon. He’d lost his right hand man Alan Thompson (sacked!) but strictly he was no longer a novice in his role. The removal of the burdens of the oldco Rangers games was a bonus, and meant the new environment was a fresh start for all. It was a time to prove himself.

The main opinion across Scottish football pre season was that Celtic would fail in Europe miserably but lord it all domestically. Little ever goes as predicted, and incredibly European football became the grand theatre for the first team with plenty of great performances to remember forever.

Leading the team into the KO stages of the European Cup, and thus becoming the first person to have done so as both a Celtic player and Celtic manager, was exceptional especially when you take it relative to the financial resources to counterparts in Spain, England and Italy.

Attention must turn to Lennon’s new methods. Rightly he deserved criticism in previous seasons for tactics and results in key matches. It was a steep learning curve and he’d conquered it. This European campaign had buried numerous concerns and he deserved the credit from it. With relatively limited options (financially) to his peers in European competition, his staff had to gauge how to tackle the opposition. As the Barcelona matches showed he and his team had managed those tasks. They’d managed to formulate and apply tactics that were not simply dull ten men behind the ball extreme cattanacio defending. It was great to watch, and received praise even from esteemed football tactics journalist/analyst Jonathan Wilson.

Was this really the manager who was only a year back three down at half time v Kilmarnock in the league and seeing the end of his Celtic managerial career? Yes it was! Probably no other Celtic manager has ever seen as swift a turnaround in their fortunes. It was Boys’ Own stuff and let’s be honest, startling!

However in contrast the domestic situation was different, and results at Parkhead early in the season were concerning with the performances to match: dull with the scorelines to back it up. Kilmarnock even managed their first victory at Celtic Park in 50 years. It wasn’t until around January when Celtic finally showed their steel and quality to push well in front of the rest and finally claim the league by a mile. The end of the European chances following the 3-0 defeat by Juventus, put the focus back to the domestic challenge, and Celtic began to thump sides with some great performances. The odd hiccup still also along the way with Lennon willing to lambaste the first team publicly after any unacceptable performances.

Question marks were raised again after the defeat by Ross County in the league, but some were bottling their angst for a while. The league was over, and Lennon will have been disappointed in some performances but the trajectory is right. With the room to manoeuvre he was doing the right thing in being experimental with some players and youngsters. That would mean short term pain for long term benefits as all had hoped. However, when matters turned as occurred with three defeats in a row in March, then pragmatically there was a reversal in ideas.

In any case, Celtic still won the league by a mile despite any faltering displays and Celtic were happy. Lennon had driven the first team to the title and this marathon was a great success. Two in a row.

The domestic cups were a mixed picture going out early and poorly to St Mirren in the league cup. However, a recovery pushed us to the Scottish Cup final, and an all green day v Hibs. Celtic triumphed easily, and Lennon had made a name for himself. He had become only the third Celt to have won both the league and cup double as both player and manager. It was a tremendous season for him. Some wondered if Celtic had a Hampden hoodoo, as Lennon has had an erratic record at Hampden. Well, Celtic won the Scottish Cup so forget the rest.

One impact of his success followed fast after the retirement of Alex Ferguson at Man Utd. They nicked ex-Celt David Moyes from Everton, and Lennon became the favourite for the vacant role. A sure sign of his growing reputation.

Not all appreciated him. Lennon actually thought the media would give him some respect, The Sun blew this out the water by twisting comments on Rangers made by him in another interview, with a matching snarling picture to boot. It was disturbing after past experience that they’d try something like this. It was becoming ridiculously common for any quotes to be pictured with a snarling picture of him. It was pathetic. Some things were to never change. In contrast the empathy for the flailing McCoist at TheRangers was pathetic and the press was applauding his incompetence, whilst Lennon kept being represented negatively.

Lennon generally took it in his stride, and at one point just swatted away the media in a tweet, and demonstrated a simple way to handle them. It was a great season for him, far greater than any of us could have hoped for and the media (no matter how hard they tried) were not going to ruin it for him. Stories on a devalued title as no Rangers and the like were just laughed off.

It was overall a great season in Europe and a successful campaign at home. He could more than hold his head up high. Yet some concerns still remained but lesser so than in previous seasons but the turnaround to the next season was to be quick so little summer respite for the coaches.

2013-14
Lennon was to start the season in some ways as if he was at a new club. There may not have been a clear out of players, but Celtic had lost the backbone of the side: the best defender (Wilson), the best midfielder (Wanyama) and the best striker (Hooper) were all transferred out. Good money in but difficult to get new people into the SPL.

Domestically, the general script was very good in the league. Despite some shaky performances now and again, the team was set out well with an adequate rotation of player to compensate for any losses. The only issue that Lennon had heavily failed in was strikers. A bugbear in recent years, it had accumulated to the shambles of this season. A long bench of strikers with not reliable to score any goals. Kris Commons was bailing them out but this wasn’t good enough. Lee Griffiths turned things around and made some of the old guard look pathetic.

The early exit from the league cup meant that again Celtic did not win the coveted treble, despite their advantages. Still, after some online and in pub hoo-haas, it was quickly forgotten, yet again it was another case of ‘What If?‘. The players were more at fault for the exit than Lennon.

However this was repeated later in the Scottish Cup after Celtic embarrassed themselves being knocked out early. Admittedly it was to a resurgent Aberdeen but it wasn’t good enough. Early predictions of a treble was looking nowlike hubris. It was more than achievable but Celtic had not even got going on that front.

It was no easy season, probably best defined as going one step back from last. Lennon deserved credit for the league title (never in doubt and a very consistent performance) , and the resurgence in the defence was down to the skill of Lennon’s coaching team in spotting talent and rearing them well. The long spell of clean sheets tat saw records broken was fantastic, and credit where credit was due. It was great to watch.

Teams in Scotland were adapting to the new environment and building strongly, although Hearts were collapsing under their debts (and were later relegated).

Europe was mixed. Lennon stuttered often. Getting through the qualifiers by the skin of their teeth was nervous enough. However a tough group on paper turned out to be less so in practise, yet despite getting tactics right in the first three game and putting out sides that made a fist for things Celtic still lost two matches. The final run of group matches saw Lennon make a hash of tactics (especially Ajax away) and Celtic collapsed to the bottom of the group. No replication of the luck from last season, and the critics were out in force.

On the other hand, it was no easy time. With the resources in the squad always in flux, Celtic have to expect highs and lows. Lennon at least never threw in the towel.

He didn’t do well with tactics more often that should be the case, and the cup defeats and losses in Europe showed that maybe he needed to revise his preparation methods for pressure knock-out matches. The tactical shambles against Ajax away against a side who were there for the taking was symptomatic of the problems that Celtic have create themselves. Tactics wise Celtic had regressed and needed to a look again at Celtic’s books. Smaller sides took playing against Celtic in the cups as if the matches were like the final itself, so unlike at some points in the past, the cup games were no longer something that could be taken for granted.

Transfers were a mixed bag. The wonderful success of van Dijk and Johansen overshadowed all else, but the forwards were a joke. An issue for Lennon to rectify. Still on balance did well with transfers and pushing the squad he had. Youngsters could have been bled more in the season, but sending them out to prove themselves was likely a good move too. That way the can show if they’re worth the chance or not on their return.

So criticism in some areas was warranted but Lennon didn’t take it all well:

“I don’t mind criticism if it is constructive – but sometimes it is venomous. And you think that is not an environment conducive to thriving, it really isn’t. I have respect for most of the journalists in this country but I was looking at forums, hotlines and phone-ins. It really sucks the life out of you at times.” Lennon Sep 2013

The media relationship was generally frayed. Lennon didn’t help matters admittedly by complaining of bias and disrespect to the club by the media and online, including ITV. Truth in what he said but probably a better way to deal with it offline and behind closed doors.

As for progress off the field, sadly Scottish football was still stuck in the dark ages. In Feb 2014, sadly the scumbags in Scottish football returned. Visiting the Aberdeen v St Johnstone League cup semi-final, he was spat at and had coins thrown at him by certain Aberdeen fans sitting around him (the match was at the neutral Tynecastle). Lennon had to leave after 70mins of the game. Deplorable and disgusting what happened. Thankfully most Aberdeen fans agreed that this was wholly unacceptable.

He’d won the league now three seasons in a row. A wonderful achievement, but then to the surprise of many, Neil Lennon resigned on 22 May 2014. His assistant (Johan Mjallby) had left only recently, and there were some rumours of Lennon’s eminent departure at Celtic but not many believed it. The papers were claiming transfer budget expectations and concerns over his squad were the reasons but maybe he’d simply achieved all he could, he’d hit a glass ceiling. He was exhausted too.

He deserved respect and achieved much in the face of adversity.

A true Celtic great. His love for the club could never be questioned.

Managerial Career Review (First Stint 2010-14)

So where can you begin? Everyone expected fireworks with Neil Lennon’s reign, and he did boldly claim that he wanted to bring back ‘The Thunder’ to the club. However much could not be foreseen and it was a mostly great but tumultuous time.

Coming on as a rookie, he was given a trial period before being confirmed as the de facto manager, and despite all the concerns he really stuck it out. As a testament to his character, you have to be in owe of what he has stood against in his long tenure, even against the sceptics in Celtic’s own support let alone bigots in other supports and one-eyed ignorants in the media.

When you witnessed his nadir in the Kilmarnock doomsday 3-3 game in his first full season (when really he should have been given his jotters), you can hardly imagine that he’d in time develop and rear the first side to great heights in Europe. He was a born fighter, and a developing coach.

Domestically the club were in the ascendency, admittedly the implosion of Rangers helped, but critics must remember that Lennon’s Celtic overtook Rangers before they went over. How success with Celtic tipped the balance to send them overboard. Lennon had out fought Rangers and proudly could be tagged as the Celtic manager who brought down Rangers! Three league titles is not to be sniffed, and is a measure of the consistency he demanded.

It was in Europe that really made his name. The famous win over Barcelona was incredible and meant that Lennon was to leave an indelible mark on the first team, and possibly a highly difficult benchmark to emulate. He and his coaching staff engineered that win perfectly. Despite a rough patch of performances, he developed and learnt his skills. He learnt his lessons from his experience in matches and applied them, which showed progress from his first days at the club. That was admirable as it showed he was not arrogant to learn from others.

You must also note that the albatross round the club’s neck was the poor European away record in the group stages. He’d pushed the side to finally achieve an away victory in Moscow, something that his predecessors had repeatedly failed to do. It was a major achievement as it broke the psychological block that was hampering everything.

One major change, was that the football had become entertaining too, and the ‘Thunder’ he promised to bring back was evident. After some often turgid football under his last two incumbents, this was a breath of fresh air. Despite the generally lower rated first XI squad players, he got the players to entertain as much as pushing to win. That is the Celtic Way.

Lennon had his faults, the worst of which was tactics. He’d been naïve to honestly admit to reporters that he didn’t bother with tactics, and on many occasions it showed. Against Rangers, Celtic were let down often by player who seemed to be left with little organisation. Domestically Celtic lost too often in knock out matches in cups, it was poor. Motivation for the KO games was deemed to be lacking. If anything, it showed a lack of ability in tactics in KO games. Celtic had it possibly too easy at home, and when pressure was put on the club then simply Celtic slipped. Lennon has to take criticism for this.

In Europe also, there were a number of games where Celtic’s gameplan was poor or non-existent. Against what was a poor Ajax side in 2013, Celtic capitulated 1-0 away when a draw could have been sufficient to take us through to the Europa League, but the tactics were so one-dimensional that the Dutch had it easy. Against Karagandy in the same season, Lennon got out of jail after poor tactics away almost cost us a place in the Champions League group stages (we recovered in the home leg).

Also in Europe, despite a fine haul of victories, Celtic had come over too often as naive and win too many moral victories. Celtic lost marginally too often, and you can only be on the wrong side just too often before you have to realise your errors. Celtic needed better in terms of tactics, preparation and homework. Lennon seemed not too concerned, which was frustrating in the increasingly tough statistics-led football heavy environment.

Often, he was criticised for being over loyal to various players. Samaras is a perfect example. His star waned way too often, but Lennon stuck by him am on enough occasions he proved Lennon right. Still critics have enough counter evidence but Lennon has enough ammunition to keep them at bay.

He had a mixed record with youngsters and rearing players. No one can deny the general success, and dissent was rare. Wanyama, Forster, Hooper, Samaras, Forrest and Ledley owe huge to debts to the faith that Lennon placed in them. Granted there were many disappointments and failures too, however on the limited budget that Lennon had, he performed very well. Much here to admire.

Could be argued that he dallied on giving youngsters in the Celtic Boys Club a chance, and could have blooded them more especially when Celtic had the league title sewn up. That’s fair comment but many young players were given opportunities, although often too briefly. Yet when sent away on loans to other clubs, few shined, so Lennon likely made the right decisions in certain cases, but should have taken the gamble more with youngsters when given the chance.

The honest truth is that despite the overall good record, he’d likely gone as far as he could. He hit a glass ceiling with Celtic. His last season in many ways showed his strengths and his weaknesses (i.e. losing crunch games but still getting the club well across the line), yet net he was very much in the black. His record is enviable and he was the architect for it. Some argues that his Celtic sides should have easily won the treble, but that’s just nonsense. Celtic teams have to earn it, and few actually have in Celtic’s history. It’s not an easy target, and with so many fronts to target, there will be faults made.

However, if one issue was to outlive his successes then it was events off field. He’d been attacked on the touchline by a rampaging Hun at Hearts, he’d been given death threats online, he’d been attacked outwith the club and he’d been sent incendiary bomb devices. All because he was a Northern Irish Catholic playing for Celtic. The threats were unceasing but he soldiered on, and stood up to all his detractors.

Admittedly, he could have just taken a step back at certain moments rather than react but that wasn’t his character, and the shameful targeting of Lennon as well as the paper thin support given by the press was shameful. Lennon was often pictured with a scowl and unflattering pose in pictures tagged to articles, it was pathetic. Many in the press simply didn’t like him, and used every opportunity to paint him as a villain. Often he was pictured as snarling and bitter or angry, when he was never such a character. It was pathetic. The bias against Lennon was unfathomable. One notable journalist on reflecting on the treatment on Lennon summarised the response perfectly:

“Political, cultural and civic Scotland has yet to explain its failure to protect Neil Lennon.”
– Kevin McKenna (The Guardian, 2014)

The supporters though were in love with him. Lennon never pandered to the support but he was whole hearted and heaped genuine praise when it was deserved but was also unafraid to strongly criticise the support when needed. However, Lennon complaining about the mock outrage and whinging about the output of the online forums, wasn’t a bright idea. You all got to live with it.

He had become one of the rare few managers to leave the Celtic job on a high. Most others left Celtic on a low, after struggles, decline and league defeats. He was to hold his head up high as closed his books, and there was probably little better time. Most managers seem to have a similar shelf life at a club, so Lennon had done his stint, and likely was wary of overstaying his welcome.

Importantly, after a rocky start he’d steered the good ship Celtic well and put us back on track so he was leaving Celtic in a far better state than he’d found the job in. The club had gone through a few demoralising set of seasons prior to his full appointment, and he had helped turned the ship around to make us a proud club once more.

He will have the proud boast of having destroyed Rangers, and been the Celtic manager when they imploded and died. That is something to savour.

Lennon had done as he had said, he’d brought the thunder back. For that and his courage in light of everything that occurred during his stint, Celtic have the upmost respect for him. A true Celtic great as a manager and a man Celtic should all be proud to be able to number as one of our own.

Whatever steps he next makes, it was not expected to be as emotional, eventful or exciting as anything he ever experienced with Celtic in this reign. However, as things turned out, there were far more stories & experiences to come.

Hibs & Bolton managerial spells

Neill Lennon had a mixed time at Bolton which was a basket case of a club heavily in debt with little support, and not even the greatest of managers could have pulled them through in the same circumstances that Neil Lennon unforgivably found himself in.

Managing Hibs turned out to be a major success for Lennon, helping them to promotion back to the top tier after a few seasons out, and helping them to stability in the top tier with some notable results. However, it all ended under a cloud, and he left/was removed from the role in early 2019.

Manager/Interim Manager at Celtic for Second Time (2019)

“I’m here for the club. The club comes first and I want to bring as much success here as I possibly can.” Neil Lennon returning to Celtic as interim manager (2019)

“I’m here for the club. The club comes first and I want to bring as much success here as I possibly can.”
Neil Lennon returning to Celtic as interim manager (2019)

Following the unexpected and sudden departure of Brendan Rodgers to Leicester in Feb 2019, Neil Lennon was back in at Celtic at the helm in an interim role.

He had only recently left Hibs under a cloud, but many sympathised with him. However, he was back at Celtic with the club 8pts in front of Sevco in the race for the league title and a Scottish Cup still to be won too, to complete a possible third treble in a row.

Celtic had the advantage with their nose in front, but that could be easily lost.

Under Lennon, Celtic carried on from where they left off with Rodgers. His first match in charge was ironically against the two Edinburgh sides, but Celtic came through in both matches. Against Hearts it was a late injury time winner which rubbed it in for Hearts.

Celtic continued to win matches, albeit there was some concern as the margins were narrow, and it was worried that Lennon was favouring players, but whilst the first team was winning and stretching their league lead, there were few complaints.

The thing is that in the league, Neil Lennon had to hardly lift a finger as Sevco were imploding. Having been level at the end of December in the league, Sevco had since then dropped many points and were to be 10pts behind in the run up to the third meeting of the season. The match was to be at Celtic Park, and as much as this was built as the title decider, for most the title race regardless of the result was already sealed. Celtic won the match v Sevco 2-1 at Celtic Park, which effectively sealed the title (if not yet fully), and there was relief and celebrations. Celtic mostly dominated although did let Sevco back into the match, and in some ways reflected the season as a whole, but there was no denying that Celtic were the better team overall in the match.

There was no denying it was hurting Sevco, with Ally McCoist on Celtic Park in a TalkRadio interview show:

“When I’m on that new stretch of motorway that takes you the other side of Glasgow, I look the other way. If Celtic Park is on my left, I can’t even look at it. I look to the right hand side!”

The cherry on the cake was Sevco’s defeat to Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup who had also knocked them out of the league cup as well, and was the first time they had defeated Sevco in all the major competitions in one season. For Celtic it was a filip that ended another of Sevco’s chances of a first top tier trophy.

It just all helped Lennon, his biggest fear was to see the advantage handed to him being lost and he would have to take all the flak undeservedly.

The result was a fine set of results over the course of his time as the interim manager, leading the First Team on to complete the domestic Treble-Treble – a truly historic achievement.

As for performances, it was a mixed bag, but there were a number of players who were not performing to the best of their ability due to mental exhaustion, injury or tiredness. The performances were in decline over his time, as the original impetus seemed to dip. The loss of key players over long stretches wasn’t helping (e.g. Tierney, Christie, Griffiths, Boyata, Rogic etc) but maybe it was tactics & formations too.

The fact is though that despite the positive results and hard work done by Lennon, some were convinced he was not the man for the long-run, and the defeat to Sevco at Ibrox was seen as the result that likely killed off Lennon’s chances for the permanent role. It was a very poor performance and some criticised various team selections on the day.

However, the board had faith in him and offered him the job straight after the Scottish Cup final, which he accepted. Admittedly the response was mixed. Some fans felt he had passed the interim term test, others felt it was a backward move, and there was frustration that despite various names having been thrown about in the media, that no other major prospects were seriously approached & interviewed for the role.

2019/2020

After the shambles in Europe last season there was no denying that another reboot was needed. Domestically Celtic had been impervious for the past three years in particular, but a noisily confident Sevco were on paper at least going to mount a stronger challenge bolstered by a few signings. The rest of the league was much the same if truth be told.

Into his second stint as manager, this was his first full season in this new reign but there’s just no denying that there was a lot of bottled up scepticism about Lennon as manager. With the early start in the European Cup qualifiers, there was simply little room for let-up for the players, and disaster struck early when Celtic were embarrassingly knocked out by Cluj at home in a match that Celtic had easily taking the advantage in to qualify for the next round. Lennon’s tactics and suitability were questioned, and the board were under pressure to back him or cut their losses on them.

To give a certain credit of the board, they took the gamble and stood by Lennon, but many were using this to further criticise the board. Transfers-wise the club coffers were heavily bolstered by the windfall from Leicester from poaching Brendan Rodgers and then the record £25m sale of Kieran Tierney. It was a bitter blow to lose the two key men for this season, but at least they were leaving with the club having been compensated heavily.

One of the key transfers sadly collapsed before it even got started. David Turnbull of Motherwell was expected to arrive at Celtic in record transfer for his parent club, only for knee injury concerns and required surgery scuppering the transfer. It was a cruel blow for the player who spent much of the season out in rest and recovery.

Losing out on the big numbers transfer, Celtic brought in Christoph Julien and Boli. The defence was a concern (as always) with recent key losses in the positions. Loans were brought in to bolster the squad too, notably Elyounoussi, Bauer and the returning Forster. Overall a fair job.

The season though began with a major thud, with Celtic surprisingly losing to Cluj (Romania) in the Champions League qualifying stages. All the pent up frustration of Lennon’s appointment just blew up into an explosion across all Celtic media, and it may have been unpleasant there was still a lot for Lennon to take in. He had made some bad decisions in his team selections and tactics, and really needed to reboot. He’d been in similar situations before in his first spell at Celtic, but he was maturer now and had to take it all on the chin.

Domestically, the first half of the season had much evidence for both sides to provide on Lennon. Nine-in-a-row was vital, but continuing the hegemony over all the domestic silverware was also essential too for many. That’s how it was panning out early on for Lennon, with only a poor defeat to Livingston away being a blot on Celtic’s form. An easy 2-0 victory over Sevco away in the league appeared to show all was well, with Johnny Hayes scoring the final goal in injury time to send the support into raptures and prove that Lennon had the upper hand. The players seemed motivated and on top.

The performances in generally in the league, appeared to be show a strong side and one on par with recent seasons so still needed some development.The biggest warning sign domestically should have been the league cup final v Sevco, in which Sevco overwhelmed Celtic on practically every football statistic going EXCEPT incredibly the one that matters: the goals tally. Celtic somehow went one up and then survived conceding a penalty and losing a player to a straight red, which was saved. Sevco were by far on top, and yet it was Celtic who won the title. It was unbelievable but there was so much luck riding out on this one, as Celtic seemed completely off the pace.

However, that warning sign was very much ignored.The Ne’er’s Day derby v Sevco was a disaster, despite being played at Celtic Park, this time again Celtic were outfought but Sevco won the match. Lennon had clearly not learnt any lessons from late and had rested on laurels. The team appeared disorganised and out of touch.

After some great Europa League match performances, it was baffling how the manager could not transfer that form domestically. It raised the concerns over recent transfers and their worth, especially Boli, but also added to the over-reliance on an ageing Scott Brown. Lennon appeared to be again out of his comfort zone in the managerial space despite competing against a rookie at the helm at Sevco.

It allowed Sevco now the chance to leapfrog Celtic in the league. It once again released the pent-up frustration a number had with Lennon’s appointment.

Europa League – Failure & Glory
After the knock out to Cluj, Celtic easily qualified to the Europa League group stages and were to draw a tough group : Lazio, Rennes and (ironically) Cluj. Lazio and Rennes were clear favourites for the top two spots and domestically were riding him. For Lennon a tough ask.

Yet, Lennon was to dumbfound all. Celtic were to have an incredible stellar group phase which no one could have ever predicted.

The key to the whole experience was the double header v Lazio, which highlighted the off field contrasts between the supports. The far right fans of Lazio stiff armed marched thru Glasgow centre before the home match, much to the horror of all decent observers in Europe. At the match, the Green Brigade were unforgiving with their anti fascist banners and taunts, leading even to the grand daughter of former wartime leader Mussolini (and she was also a faux MP) to demand a new law of Duceophobia! Everyone laughed at her and it made Celtic many new friends across Europe.

As for the matches, Celtic created history by defeating Lazio in both legs 2-1, and both exciting matches. Lazio were dumbstruck. No Scottish side (and few ever) had ever achieved this feat. It was a great boost for Lennon and the players. Some questioned whether Rodgers tactics could have been as successful? But that was all academic now. Lennon’s players even when under the cosh were tough opposition and were through to the knock-out stages topping the group, first time Celtic had ever ended the group stage at the top.

Back to the league
The turn of the new year, after the winter break, came to signal a big change. Celtic began a long winning run, twelve matches in a row, including some big wins (4-0 v M’well and 5-0 v Hearts). The football was picking up, and Lennon seemed to have all on board playing well together.

What helped was the collapse of Sevco who having got the upper hand, started to drop points and lose defeats, such that Sevco ended up 13 points behind (albeit with a game in hand) and knocked out the Scottish Cup. So bad, that in one interview, Gerard couldn’t even bring himself to even say Celtic.

The big problem though was Europe. Having drawn a poor Copenhagen in the post-group knockout stages, Lennon once again found himself getting tactics badly wrong even though his side were favourites, and Celtic were humiliatingly out of Europe with two bad defeats. After Cluj, there were murmurs rising again of his inability and they resurfaced again here and couldn’t be swept under the carpet.

Everything domestically at least was going on the right road, but then the coronavirus pandemic hit globally and sport everywhere was suspended.

There were calls to postpone the league to play the remainder of the games or cancel the season. Neither was a practical option for the smaller leagues unlike the major leagues who get major TV cash, and Scottish football had to be realistic. After many dramas and politicking by Sevco, and Hearts etc, the inevitable and correct decision was made, and Celtic with their unassailable lead were crowed league champions BUT the Scottish Cup (with just the semis & final left) were postponed to be played at the end of the calendar year.

Celtic under Lennon had now achieved the incredible nine league titles in a row, a record equalled and much to be proud of, despite the circumstances as fans couldn’t celebrate together due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Lennon had a lot to reflect on positively. He had a strong challenge from Sevco, yet was still on a roll aiming to complete the domestic treble. He had now won the last three domestic trophies as the manager, and the team had begun to pick up. Europe was a mixed bag but top spot of the group stage (first time ever for Scottish clubs) as well as beating Lazio home & away were highs, but losses to Cluj & Copenhagen were clearly major black marks.

He was on a roll, the support were generally behind him, despite some concerns & reservations, and the celebrations might have been confined to home but still brought a smile to the supporters’ faces. Celtic still had to complete the incredible fourth treble in a row, but Lennon was still in with that shout.

2020/21 Season

Celtic were supposed to make further history this season with an unprecedented tenth league title in a row. What should have been a season to remember was very soon clearly not going to be one for the right reasons. The Covid pandemic overshadowed everything with its restrictions, but really anything that could go wrong for Celtic did go wrong, and from early doors it was obvious that Lennon was to fail in maintaining the club’s domestic hegemony.

After a great first day league match performance, everything soon from there just collapsed, and Lennon was centre stage in this calamity, and the unintentional conductor to the entire shambles.

Firstly in the Champions League qualifiers, Celtic were humiliatingly knocked out by Ferencvaros, a very poor Hungarian side, the second season in a row that Celtic had been dumped out so quickly before the group stages. Didn’t help that Lennon didn’t play a striker in the key game, especially as the matches were now one legs due to covid. His tactical nous was under heavy attack. The writing was on the wall, and all the old criticisms of Lennon were brought up again, as were calls for change.

This pattern continued in the UEFA Cup, and in the group stages, Celtic absolutely collapsed. Lennon simply could not organise his sides properly to compete even against Sparta Prague who absolutely humiliated Celtic in both matches. Finishing bottom was bad enough, but Sevco progressed from their group. Many felt that Celtic had a fair group to compete in, but Lennon’s teams just didn’t stand to the challenge. An incredible 19 goals were conceded by Celtic in the six group matches. Only twelve months before, Celtic had made history in the Europa group stages, now the fortunes were reversed.

That all set out the stalls for Lennon, and domestically things were to get worse. There was no buffer to protect Lennon. He’d managed to get himself out of the hole on various past occasions, blessed by Sevco collapses, but not this season. This time Celtic were the script writers for their own downfall and tripped up repeatedly.

Notably, a general criticism has been made of the board and support by certain supporters. The truth is that the board funded major signings & loans, were overly protective & supportive to the team management, and they showed way too much patience for Lennon. Some even initially spoke prematurely about this being the best transfer window ever. The arrival of Duffy, Barkas and Laxlat were thought to be the moves to push Celtic all the way, as was the retention of Elyounoussi. It wasn’t to be.

Lennon was clearly out of sorts domestically, and nothing seemed to illustrate this more than the one-side pummelling Celtic received at the hands of Sevco in the first encounter at Celtic Park. From there on in, the squad lost its confidence and Lennon was drowning it seemed. His tactics weren’t working if not absent, his motivational ability was non-existent, and the side looked a shadow of its former self. Points got dropped against any and all comers, there was no fear factor in playing Celtic.

The delayed Scottish Cup final match in December 2020 was a respite but really a dreadful performance after a good first half saw Celtic lucky to remain in the game, and questioned Lennon’s ability to adjust tactics in a key game. Winning against a second tier Hearts side on penalties didn’t placate anyone, especially after throwing away the leads. What should have been a moment to celebrate for evermore, creating history of four trebles in a row turned into a damp squid, partly due to the empty covid-restricted stadium but also due to the culmination of poor results across the fixtures. It was sad to see. Celtic had actually got knocked out the 2020/21 League Cup unceremoniously not long before this match which didn’t help matters. For Lennon at least he had become the first Celtic man to win the treble both as a player and as a manager. It was something at least personally to take pride from.

The support was already up in arms, including one unsavoury protest at Celtic Park that which later saw fences having to be put up round Celtic Park. It was disappointing to see, and the support were already united to see both Neil Lennon and Chief Exec Peter Lawell out. However, the board stuck their heads in the sand and let Neil Lennon continue, despite every match seeming to be a case of “drop points in this one here and he has to resign“. Celtic dropped points, and the line of ‘turning it around‘ was repeatedly released by the manager. It just made everyone angrier. It’s hard to know which match can be singled out to have been the worst, as actually there were quite a few that could be used as an example. Celtic were far behind in the league title race, and had made little challenge, effectively handing the title over.

Granted, an empty Celtic Park helped opposition teams, but that’s little excuse as Celtic little took advantage even in away matches. Every competition saw Celtic collapse. Lennon was out of his depth it seemed. He hadn’t been a popular choice to take the full role at the start, and worse of all, it was all coming to a head.

Only Turnbull and Soro were coming out of it all with any positive notes, yet Soro was a curious one. He was only brought in as a starter late on, making many wonder why he was left in the reserves for so long. Every other player had declined, and the higher valued players were walking around deflated. Performances were poor & unorganised.

The defence was a shambles, with Lennon’s coaching team unable to provide any assistance. Duffy was dire and Barkas similar, and yet so much had been spent on them. Celtic repeatedly lost goals from set-pieces, so what were the coaching staff doing at training? Even weak sides were turning up in belief they could easily turn over Celtic, and many times they did. Centre-half John Hendry was sent out on loan to Belgium having ‘failed’ at Celtic, only to make a good name for himself there, worsening the judgment and coaching reputation of Lennon’s decision making.

Practically, every aspect of Celtic’s play was poor without exception. The lauded Celtic youth system seemed to be in a rut, and Ntcham & Edouard were seen as passengers rather than engines to the side. There was no cohesion, no team spirit and low morale. The over-reliance on an ageing Scott Brown was ridiculous when he’d now been long out of sorts.

Incredibly, Sevco defeated Celtic in January 2021 despite not having a shot on target, their goal coming from an own-goal by Celtic from a set-piece. Lennon’s coaching team was possibly making things worse not better. It meant his entire coaching staff and ethos were under-fire. With ex-Celts John Kennedy and ex-Celtic manager Gordon Strahan’s son, the main management team seemed like cronyism and taking the fans for granted to many.

“I’ve reconciled myself to the fact I’m not going to be everyone’s cup of tea…”
Neil Lennon (Nov 2020)

Lennon was losing the plot, not helped by a diatribe against critics and the press in January 2021 over a botched Dubai training trip (which saw two players end up with Covid, 13 players isolated plus the manager & assistant); it didn’t help matters publicly. He had some fair points but should have been a little more professional. PR wise the club was having a nightmare the entire season. Public criticisms on goalkeeper Barkas and then being let-down by the players was worsening matters and morale.

As a measure of concern at Celtic, there was a disturbingly large exodus of youth prospects bailing out from Celtic moving to wherever possible away from the club. It was hardly a vote of confidence in the management.

One of Lennon’s greatest attributes had become a double-edged sword, that of not being a quitter. At this time it was definitely a negative for Celtic, but the board were not helping. It was all going wrong, and Lennon should have swiftly made the move early on, but the board let him carry on to the detriment of his own reputation, let alone that of the club and the outgoing chief executive. All the incredible progress of recent years had now been duly reversed. In the past season Lennon did have many sympathisers despite the problems (or ‘happy-clappers’ as cynics called them), but they were to be fewer as the season progressed. There were repeated heated calls for Lennon to step down or be cut for his own good, but he obstinately remained in charge.

Neil Lennon was overstaying his time at Celtic as the manager. It had been the same with Strachan, Deila and Mowbray. Reason could be partly pride but also the knowledge that this was their last chance at a major club and likely it wouldn’t come again. Hard to let go. However, allowing Lennon to continue long enough for supporter anger to distil into apathy might well be the most damaging decision.

He finally resigned/forced out in February 2021, after another defeat to Ross County lost by 1-0 in a league match. Another abject display was met surprisingly with little condemnation as it was little unexpected, morale was that low. His forthcoming departure was on the cards as anyone could tell from his post-match interview where he seemed to front up with a resigned smile to the obvious questions that were being asked.

It would be great to look back on his second stint at Celtic and reflect on his sealing the record equalling ninth title in a row, defeating Lazio home & away and sealing a record creating quadruple treble. However sadly that likely won’t be the case. If the cliché that you’re only as good as your last match is crudely applied then Lennon will be in the red. His stubbornness to stick in his role rather than stand down was to be costly for Celtic.

Despite all the travails of his last season, we wished him the best. He will always be a fondly remembered Celt. Plenty other great players across every club have had poor stints in management with their favoured clubs, but that should not overshadow the good, and Neil Lennon has much to fondly look back on from his overall time as a Celtic manager.

Post-Celtic

Lennon didn’t take the initial period after his departure well, and sadly was used by the mainstream media for some pithy soundbites, such as complaining that he felt he could have done the job but the support didn’t back him and so on. It didn’t help repair relations between him and the Celtic support, and really he needed to heed his time before going public and so just let time pass to be able to reflect better on it all.

He next became the manager to Omonia in Cyprus, but despite some great form in Europe and having helped them win a domestic trophy in his first months in the role, he paid the price for poor form on the domestic front. Omonia were sitting seventh in their domestic table, and he was sacked quite unceremoniously. Incredibly, it was just days after a narrow 1-0 defeat by Manchester Utd in the UEFA Cup for which his team won plaudits. He’d taken over the now-aged Adam Matthews and Gary Hooper with him. The departing notice from the club seemed to be a near cut & paste from his second spell as manager at Celtic:

“Unfortunately, the ongoing competitive instability and the significant losses of points in the championship, are the main reasons that made us decide to end our partnership. Mr Lennon has written his name in the history of Omonia and deserves the respect and recognition of all of us. Our paths separate, but the memories of our collaboration will unite us forever. We sincerely thank Mr Lennon for his contribution and wish him every success in his future career.”

Afterwards, his name would often put up as a potential option for any vacant managerial role in Scotland & Ireland (e.g. return to Hibernian) but never happened. Out of the blue in 2023, he was surprisingly made the manager at Rapid Bucharest, but that reign was again short, and was sacked in August 2024 after a poor start to their new season.

He ended up mostly bouncing around as a football media analyst on radio & TV, with generally good insight and humour. The pressure off let his best side come to the fore.

[….]

Playing Career

Club	From	To_	Fee_	League		Scottish/FA Cup		League cup		Other
Wycombe	31/01/2008	31/05/2008	Free	8 (1)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Nottm Forest	12/06/2007	31/01/2008	Free	15 (3)	0	1 (0)	0	2 (0)	0	0 (1)	0
Celtic	08/12/2000	12/06/2007	£5,750,000	212 (2)	3	26 (0)	0	10 (1)	0	52 (1)	0
Leicester	23/02/1996	08/12/2000	£ 750,000	169 (1)	6	8 (0)	0	23 (0)	3	8 (0)	0
Crewe	09/08/1990	22/02/1996	Free	142 (5)	15	16 (0)	1	8 (1)	1	15 (0)	1
Man City	26/08/1989	09/08/1990	Trainee	1 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0	0 (0)	0
Totals			£6,500,000	547 (12)	24	51 (0)	1	43 (2)	4	75 (2)	1
			goals / game	0.04		0.01		0.08		0.01
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals