Lennon Returns to Celtic

Gordon Strachan turned to Neil Lennon last night in a dramatic bid to help Celtic hold on to their championship crown. The former captain is returning to Celtic Park just ten months after leaving for England, not as a player but as a first-team coach whose remit is to shake up the champions’ dresssing-room.

Lennon accepted an invitation from Strachan to join his coaching staff just five days after the costly Old Firm defeat at Ibrox, which has given Rangers a six-point lead in the title race. The former Northern Ireland midfield player was a huge presence in his seven years as a Celtic player and Strachan is desperate to have that sort of influence around the club once more.

Lennon, who was playing for Wycombe Wanderers, is hanging up his boots with immediate effect. At 36, his legs can no longer carry him where he wants to go, but his vocal nature will ensure he wins over the hearts and minds among Strachan’s players who have failed to meet the challenge set by Rangers this season.

“He will give a little bit of fire to those players who need it,” Paul Lambert, the Wycombe manager and former Celtic captain, said.

Just two weeks ago, the Celtic manager admitted there was an absence of dressing-room character that was part of the landscape not so long ago. Strachan cited his desire to return to the time “when we had leaders like Roy Keane and Neil Lennon”. The appointment certainly created a feelgood factor among Celtic supporters last night, if fans’ websites are any indicators.

Strachan was in London on Wednesday, ostensibly for television duties with Sky for the Arsenal-Liverpool Champions League match. However, it is believed that he met Lennon, who travelled from Buckinghamshire, where he has been based since moving to Wycombe in January to hook up with Lambert. Lennon had originally joined Nottingham Forest when he left Celtic last June as a free agent.

Lennon has seen Celtic in person several times this season, coming back to Glasgow for Champions League games to work as a radio analyst. As someone who won five Premier League titles for the club, including the final two as captain, he will have been alarmed at the recent drop in form. Tomorrow, he will be in the dugout at Celtic Park for the home game against Motherwell, one of eight games that Celtic must win if they are to have any hope of winning the title for the third successive occasion under Strachan.

“I am overwhelmed at being offered this chance to return to Celtic, a place where everyone knows my heart lies,” Lennon declared last night on the club website. “Obviously, it was a tremendous honour to play for Celtic and to captain the club. Returning to Celtic and being part of the coaching set-up is simply phenomenal. I would like to thank Gordon for this opportunity and I look forward to doing all I can to play my part in achieving further success for the club.”

Lennon, who joined Celtic in 2000 when Martin O’Neill paid Leicester City £5.8 million for him, joins a coaching staff which includes assistant manager, Garry Pendrey, and first-team coach, Tommy Burns, who is battling cancer for the second time but still coaches at the club and will continue to do so when his treatment programme allows.

Lennon arrives without a coaching pedigree but his leadership and motivational qualities are in no doubt. He had been keen to finish his playing career in England but swiftly realised how much he missed Celtic.

“It was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse,” he said. “Chances like this only come around once in a lifetime and I’m flattered to have been given the role.”

Strachan persuaded Lennon to remain at Celtic when he took over from O’Neill in June 2005 and made him captain. “Neil is someone who I am proud to have worked with previously and is a man who I have great respect for,” the Celtic manager said yesterday.

“Neil has made a huge contribution to Celtic over a number of years and has been a major part of the club’s success in recent times. We were disappointed to lose Neil and he is someone who I was very keen to have back at the club. With his qualities, Neil will be a very valuable addition to our [coaching] team and we are very much looking forward to working with him.”

Lambert believes that Lennon can restore the winning mentality that they both embraced at Celtic. “Neil has worked with the greatest manager, in my opinion, in Martin O’Neill, and he will have his own ideas and enthusiasm,” Lambert said.

“I am sure the Celtic fans will love him being back. I was gutted to lose Neil but he could not turn this down. The game, though, is all about players, as Neil will now find out. It is not going to be a bed of roses for him, going back after the influence he had there as a player. However, he can do that again as a coach.”

Hopfully Lenny provides this shower of sh!te the boot in the baws they desperatley need. No leadership skills on the park at all so hopefulyl Lenny can have a word with his fellow ginger and get Balde in the side. At least he'll provide a bit of bit in the side and put fear back into the opposition. Good to See Lambert care for Celtic enough to let Lennon go already. Long shot, but could be the first step in bringing this fecking trophey back where it belongs

Could be a good move if, as you say, he instal some belief and passion back into Celtic.


I would so laugh however if they gave him the job on a whim in the Summer

I told my taxi man on Monday that Lennon would return in the summer, possibly as assitant manager. He started running his mouth saying 'no chance, he wants to play for another year or two'. Can't wait to see the baldy feckwit.

I think Lennon will become manager one day but next season would be mad on Celtics part. Keep his as someone's right hand man, whether it be WGS or some newbie. Let him learn different management techniques for another few years and I'd be happy top see him step up. He's worked under O'Neill for years so I'd say he already knows a fair bit

Could be to late for trophy to come back me thinks.

As do I but as the old saying goes, 'stranger things have happened'

Very true. Hope it goes right to the last game. Would make it interesting.

Still some tough games to be played post-split so it isn't entirely over but I won't be holding my breath. They have a nack of grinding out results when it matters

A treble for smith would hurt Celtic. Looks on the cards

I dont think Lennon will change much, shout a few heads off, wont do anything, you need someone on the park doing that.

I feel for Strachan, http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/scotland/7326495.stm

chicks article sums it up really

Chick Young is a [beep!]. He doesn't know what he's talking about. The fans havn't turned on Strachan as a result of losing out to Rangers. Celtic have played the worst football I've witnessed in my life time for the past year and a bit. This coupled with his obsession of spending the clubs money on midfielders and neglecting the positions we desperatley lack in. Walter Smith went to Rangers and the first thing he did was buy two solid centre halfs. Our defence has been diabolical since he arrived but he only bought a RB (despite there being 3 or 4 at the club already). His lack of a nutsack is evident when we are trailing. He won't change his gameplan. Straight swaps are his limit. He won't drop players that are playing bad. Scott Brown has been dire almost all season but he won't be dropped. Same can be said fo Hesselink yet there are other players that are scoring for fun in the reserves but won't be given a chance (see Riordan). Yes, two league titles in 2 years is a great acheivment, but anything else would have been a disaster. Rangers were mince over the past two seasons so we won the league unopposed. We were fully expected to. This season is the first time Strachan has been under pressure as Celtic manager and he has crumbled. Defeats to the like of Motherwell & Aberdeen at home just show that teams don't fear coming to Parkhead anymore. At the end of the day, we are getting further & further away in a two horse race. Simply not good enough!


Anyways, I'll support Strachan while he's in charge but I think the board need to shake things up. We need new ideas and a new gameplan. Strachan lacks ambition and we'll not see any drastic changes to the side whilst he is in power. I think a return to punditry on Sky is his best option