Just a day back reports from the Scottish Sun emerged that Premier League club Fulham were looking at current Celtic interim manager Neil Lennon as a possible candidate to take over the top job at Craven Cottage. The report did add that Lennon would only consider moving elsewhere if he isn’t handed the Celtic job permanently.
What Lennon had to say?
Now Lennon has opened about the new links with the English club and said (The Scottish Sun), “It’s just noise.” The 47-year old’s name is even being linked with Scotland’s national team job after Alex McLeish was shown the door recently.
On the national team job, Lennon said, ”International football has never really appealed to me. I like the day-to-day stuff, and I always feel that if you lost a game and didn’t work again for two or three months, you’d be stewing over it for all that time. It’s bad enough doing it for two or three days, never mind for two or three months.”
He also claimed that the next Scotland manager should be Scottish and believed that Derek McInnes and Steve Clarke are the best candidates for the top job.
It’s clear that the former Hibernian FC boss is prepping himself up for the Celtic manager’s job on a permanent basis as he denied his interest in other posts. The manager has even started discussing transfer plans for the summer, and that is a good indicator that he would take over permanently.
Will Lennon be a good option?
The Northern Irish man knows the club inside out as he has previously managed and played at the club. He knows what the fans would demand from him and what kind of results he needs to deliver.
The former Bolton man has also mellowed down a bit since his previous stint. Celtic have been linked with some heavyweight names like Rafael Benitez, and he undoubtedly would have been a better option. In case, if the club doesn’t manage to get the big names, then Lennon could be Celtic’s ‘go to’ man.
However, the club has looked a bit devoid of ideas since Lennon took over. The Bhoys have continued with their winning juggernaut, but we wouldn’t attribute it to Lennon putting on a tactical masterclass. The club would be better off if they can get someone who can take the team to the next level and bring fresh ideas at the club.
Someone like David Wagner could turn out to be a better option than Lennon, and the former Huddersfield boss has already been linked with the Hoops.
