Neil Lennon

At 52 years old, Neil Lennon has this physical status:

Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish football coach and former player who is also the manager of Celtic, a Scottish Premiership club. He appeared for Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra, and Leicester City during his playing career.

In 2000, Lennon joined Celtic, where he made over 200 appearances and was elected captain in 2005.

He returned to England and competed for Nottingham Forest and Wycombe Wanderers before retiring as a player.

Lennon made 40 appearances for Northern Ireland in nine years, scoring two goals. After the departure of Tony Mowbray, Lennon was named manager of Celtic in March 2010, initially in a caretaker role.

Lennon had a fruitful tenure as Celtic manager, winning three Scottish championships, two Scottish Cups, qualifying for the Champions League group stage twice and two knockout stages once more before leaving the club in May 2014.

Lennon returned to Scottish football in 2016 with Hibernian after an unsuccessful spell with Bolton Wanderers, where the club suffered financially.

In his first season as head coach, he led them to a raise and European qualification in his second season.

Lennon left Hibernian in January 2019 and returned to Celtic a month later, becoming the boss of the 2018–19 season, whereby they restructured their deal after guiding them to the league and scottish cup championships.

Early life

Lennon was born in Lurgan, County Armagh, and attended St Michael's Grammar School in the town. He played gaelic football for the school and was also selected for the Armagh minor team as a youngster. He grew up supporting Celtic and played football for the local Lurgan Celtic youth team.

Personal life

Lennon has discussed suffering from depression since 2000.

Lennon left the Bank of Ireland in January 2011 after a company of which he was a director defaulted on a €3.7 million loan.

Although Lennon, a young player on Crewe, was a mentor of Andy Woodward and Steve Walters, both of whom were victims of sexual assault by coach Barry Bennell, both of whom were victims of sexual abuse by coach Barry Bennell. Lennon expressed regret for not being aware of the harassment at the time.

He is a sponsor of Lurgan Celtic, a home-town team.

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Club career

After being able to the final of the Milk Cup with Glenavon Select and scoring on his Irish League debut, Lennon joined Glenavon Glenavon. In 1987, he joined Manchester City as a trainee. During his time in Manchester, he made one appearance in the league on April 30, 1988 against Birmingham City, before he signed for Crewe Alexandra on a free transfer in August 1990. Lennon made his Crewe debut against Reading on September 18, 1990. Despite missing the entire season 1991-92 due to a back injury, he became a key player of the team and was praised for his intelligent play and consistent results. Lennon made his Northern Ireland debut in 1994 and became the first Crewe Alexandra player to win a full international cap in 60 years. Lennon played for the Crewe for 187 games and scored 18 goals in 5+12 years.

Lennon took Lennon's name in February 1996 and signed for Leicester City for a £750,000. Lennon was a member of Leicester City's 1995 team, which defeated Crystal Palace 2–1 at Wembley in the Play-off Final to win promotion to the Premier League. Lennon won his first major winner's medal against Middlesbrough in a replayed League Cup Final on April 16, 1997. He appeared in two League Cup Finals during his time at Filbert Street, losing 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur in March 1999 but beating Tranmere Rovers 2–1 in February 2000.

Following a challenge, Shearer appeared to intentionally kick Lennon in the head during a league match against Newcastle United. Shearer's referee took no action against her. Shearer apologised later, but denied that Lennon's call was deliberate, and Lennon later testified in Shearer's defense at the FA hearing, which cleared the Newcastle and England striker of all charges.

Since Martin O'Neill took over as Celtic's new manager in June 2000, he made several attempts to sign Lennon. After months of protracted talks with Leicester, Lennon signed the club he supported as a boy on December 6, 2000. Celtic swept to a domestic treble this season, winning the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup, and Scottish League Cup. Lennon pick-up three winner's medals. Lennon defeated two more league championships and two Scottish Cups over the next four seasons at Celtic. He was also a member of the Celtic team that reached the UEFA Cup Final in 2003, losing 3-2 to Porto after extra time.

Gordon Strachan took over as Celtic boss from Martin O'Neill in the summer of 2005, he made Lennon Celtic captain. Lennon, a former Leicester City player who fired Craig Levein in January 2006, was linked with a return to the Midlands team in a player-manager role. He was flattered on record, but he wanted to captain Celtic to the Scottish Premier League crown, but wanted to captain Celtic to the Scottish Premier League title.

Despite being associated with a transfer to Crystal Palace in a player-manager role in 2006, Celtic revealed on June 23rd that he had signed a new one-year deal. Roy Keane, the current Sunderland manager, made an attempt to sign Lennon ahead of the 2006 transfer window, but Celtic refused him. Lennon announced on April 25th that he would leave Celtic and that the team would win the Scottish Cup Final against Dunfermline Athletic on May 26, 2007. Celtic's 1–0 win and clinched the League and Cup Double.

Lennon joined Nottingham Forest in a one-year deal with a right to a second year on June 12, 2007. In a 0–0 draw at home against AFC Bournemouth, he made his debut captaining the team. He missed a week of training with Forest in November 2007 due to family reasons in Scotland, and as a result, he lost his position in the team.

Lennon joined Wycombe Wanderers of League Two on a free transfer on January 31, 2008, according to his former Celtic midfield partner Paul Lambert. He left Celtic on Sunday to take up a coaching role.

International career

On June 11, 1994, Lennon made his international debut for Northern Ireland as a replacement in a friendly against Mexico in Miami. In another friendly against Chile, he had to wait almost a year for his next cap. In a European Championship qualifier against Portugal three months later, Lennon made his first competitive appearance three months later on September 3, 1995. Lennon became a fixture on the international stage, but Northern Ireland's attempts to qualify for major tournament finals were unsuccessful.

Following a death threat ahead of a Northern Ireland match against Cyprus, Lennon decided to withdraw from international football in August 2002. The threats came after he was reportedly admitted that he wanted to play for a team representing a United Ireland. The Loyalist Volunteer Force allegedly launched the assault, but the group later denied it.

Northern Ireland's Ronnnon was capped 40 times, scoring two goals. He has also captained the team on several occasions.

Northern Ireland's goal was first in terms of scores and rankings, according to rankings and findings.

Managerial career

After John Collins' resignation, Lennon was linked with Hibernian's post-partum, but Mixu Paatelainen took over the job. In 2008, Lennon's first coaching role was as the first team coach for Celtic. Lennon took charge of the Celtic reserve team following Tony Mowbray's appointment as Celtic manager.

In his first match, Celtic won the Jock Stein Friendship Cup on penalties. With no reserve league, the team played a string of friendlies in Ireland against Cork City, Drogheda United, Shamrock Rovers, and Cliftonville, losing only once. They played against Blackburn Rovers, Everton, Chelsea, Huddersfield Town, Newcastle United, and Sunderland.

Lennon was named caretaker boss for the remainder of the 2009–10 season after Mowbray's departure from Celtic on March 25, 2010. Johan Mjüllby, his former teammate, was named as his assistant. Celtic won all of their remaining league games under Lennon, including victories over Kilmarnock, Hibernian, and Rangers, but Ross County defeated them 2–0 in the Scottish Cup semi-finals. Lennon talked to the Celtic players and their progress over the course of the season. They lacked "hunger and desire," according to King, and if he were to be installed as manager or not, he'd be recommending a substantial number of players to the board.

On June 10, Lennon was appointed Celtic's chief on a full-time basis. Mjällby was retained as his assistant, as well as former Celtic teammate Alan Thompson and former Leicester City teammate Garry Parker as first-team coaches.

For the 2010–11 season, he made significant improvements to the Celtic team. Aiden McGeady's record of £9.5 million was sold alongside captain Stephen McManus and goalkeeper Artur Boruc. 13 other players left the club, giving Lennon ample funds to re-build for the new season. Lennon went on to sign many promising, young, cheap, relatively unknown players from smaller leagues around the world; striker Gary Hooper arrived from England's Scunthorpe, Israeli Beram Kayal was signed; Honduran left-back Emilio Izaguirre has also signed. Lennon has also signed several veteran players on free transfers. Charlie Mulgrew, Joe Ledley, and Daniel Majstorovi were all drafted into the first team. In addition to these, Lennon has signed five others, including Fraser Forster, who was on loan from Newcastle and helped establish a new SPL record for most clean sheets.

Celtic lost 3–0 away to Braga in their first competitive game as full-time boss on July 28. Celtic defeated Lennon in their first eight league games under Lennon, but the game was marred by controversies after their 2–1 victory over Dundee United on October 17th. Referee Dougie McDonald gave Celtic a penalty kick in the second half, but the call was later reversed by referee Dougie McDonald. McDonald explained after the game that he overruled the penalty decision on the assistant referee's advice. McDonald was reluctant to accept McDonald's explanation, adding, "I suppose you have to bring it down to another honest mistake by the referee." McDonald lied in his explanation of the penalty award, but the referee resigned several weeks later after struggling to properly explain his decision. Celtic lost their undefeated run in the league the following week, losing 3-1 at home against Rangers, triggering further remarking controversy. Rangers' Kirk Broadfoot collapsed to the ground under a challenge from Celtic's Daniel Majstorovi, resulting in the Ibrox club's third goal. Broadfoot seemed to have fallen, and a television video showed that the referee had his back to the game when the challenge was over, with only Broadfoot falling to the ground in time. "I'm not positive he saw it so I don't know why he's given it," Lennon said later. He's got a lot of questions to answer. Celtic defeated Aberdeen 9–0 in November, a major win in the Scottish Premier League and Aberdeen's worst ever loss. Celtic lost their next game 2–0 against Hearts, with Celtic's Joe Ledley sent off for the first time in his career against Ian Black, who was unstoppable. Celtic was later denied a penalty award in the second half, and Lennon was summoned to the referee's stand shortly thereafter. After the match, Lennon defended Ledley, referring to referee Craig Thomson's decision as "ridiculous." Following the incident in the Hearts' game, Lennon was given a six-match touchline suspension for excessive misconduct, but it was later limited to four matches after appeal. Following an altercation with Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist during a Scottish Cup match in March 2011, he was banned from four match touchline ban by the SFA.

Celtic led Celtic to the final of the League Cup in March 2011, but Rangers lost 2–1 after extra time. They remained in contention for the SPL title until the last day of the 2010-11 season, when they defeated 4–0 at home to Motherwell but finished a point behind Rangers. Celtic beat Motherwell 3–0 in the Scottish Cup Final a week later, winning his first silverware as a boss.

Lennon received the SPL Manager of the Month award for November 2011, after coming off a slow start to season 2011-2012. Lennon was named SFWA Manager of the Year after the club progressed to win the 2011–12 Scottish Premier League. Celtic fought Celtic in two qualifying rounds before reaching the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League group stage, where Celtic defeated Barcelona one day after the club's 125th birthday. Celtic qualified out of their group in the Champions League's knock-out stages. Celtic was comfortably defeated on aggregate by Juventus in the last 16 rounds, but Celtic and Lennon were also praised for their overall Champions League campaign. Celtic retained the Premier League trophy on April 21, 2013. Lennon ended the season by leading Celtic to a League and Cup double after defeating Hibernian 3–0 in the Scottish Cup Final.

Celtic qualified for the Champions League's group stages again this season, but the club had a disappointing season, winning only once over Ajax and then falling to a 6–1 loss at Barcelona in the final group game. They did not do well in domestic cup competitions, losing 1-0 to Morton in their first game in the Scottish League Cup and losing 2-1 to Aberdeen in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. The League was much more impressive, with undefeated until February and losing only twice in all over the course of the season in which the team scored 102 goals on their way to their third straight League championship. Lennon announced on May 22nd that after four years as manager, he was resigning Celtic. In a brief statement, he said, "The club is in a good situation, and I wish the fans and the club all the best for the future."

On October 12, 2014, Lennon was announced as Bolton Wanderers' new manager, despite a four-year deal. He won his first game in charge 1–0 at Birmingham City's stadium, but after an altercation with referee Mark Hayward resulting from Lennon's departure from his scientific area before Craig Davies' penalty was saved, he was sent to the stands in the 81st minute. Bolton climbed ten places from bottom of the table to fourteenth in under Lennon's tenure, which included an eight-match unbeaten runs and four straight clean sheets. Bolton reached the fourth round of the FA Cup, beating Liverpool on a replay before conceding a last-minute goal to lose 2–1 and go out. Lennon's first two games of the season didn't go well for the Lennon, with Bolton winning just one of their last 11 games of the season, and Lennon releasing Barry Bannan and Neil Danns for off-field indiscipline. Bolton did however succeed in avoiding relegation, finishing 18th in the league, a high point.

Bolton struggled at the start of the season, and by October 2015, the team was still winless in their first eleven league games. Lennon maintained his optimism in Bolton's rise, saying, "I didn't know how tough it was going to be," he continued to say, but "I have faith in my own ability and hope we'll turn it around." Bolton had played in a string of twelve games without a win by the end of November 2015 and finished last in the Championship standings. In a statement released just hours before the club's 1–1 draw with Brentford, the club announced that their squad had not been paid this month "due to a short-term funding issue." Gary Madine, a bolton striker, was seen mouthing an insult against Lennon on television, but Bolton's boss denied the allegation afterward, saying "I don't know what he said."

He's a Geordie, I can't understand him!

It was probably reciprocated!"

Bolton continued to fail, and Lennon was left "mutual consent" on March 15, 2016, with the club at the bottom of the table.

In June 2016, Lennon was appointed head coach of Scottish Championship side Hibernian. In his first season, he led the "Hibees" to the Scottish Championship title and promotion back to the Scottish Premiership (after a three-season absence). In September 2017, Lennon and Hibs decided to keep his deal until the end of the 2019–20 season. Hibs finished fourth in the 2017-2018 Scottish Premiership and qualified for the Europa League.

Hibernian suspended Lennon following an exchange with other club workers on January 25. Garry Parker, the head coach, and assistant coach Garry Parker had left the club by mutual consent on January 30th. According to a club statement, "neither Neil nor Garry has been guilty of any misconduct or wrongdoing, and no disciplinary procedure has been initiated. The ban, which was designed to encourage an internal investigation, was lifted by the club as part of the deal.

Following Brendan Rodgers' departure from Leicester City late in February, Lennon was appointed manager of Celtic for the second time. Lennon was appointed permanent manager for the second time at the end of the season after assisting the club in achieving an unprecedented third domestic treble ("treble treble." And after the suspension of professional football as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019-20 season saw much success. The season was postponed, with Celtic's championship being thirteen points clear at the time of suspension, equaling the national record of nine consecutive championships set by Celtic in the 1970s and 1990s matched by Rangers. In addition to the league, they were victors in the League and Scottish cups for the fourth straight domestic trebles.

Lennon's good start to the 2020-21 season came after the club's poor start to the season that began with a 2–0 home loss to Rangers on October 17th; this was followed by a lack of eligibility from the Europa League in the group stage, and outright expulsion from the competition in the second round, effectively ending the possibility of a fifth consecutive treble. The board of directors released a statement on December 7th, in which they expressed complete support for Lennon and his backroom workers as calls were made for him to be fired and fans began to protest outside Celtic Park following their expulsion from the League Cup. Celtic lost their second Old Firm game of the season on January 2nd, after a brief recovery, and calls were raised for Lennon to be suspended from his position as hopes of a historic tenth title faded.

Lennon was later chastised for leading the team on a training trip to Dubai in January; health restrictions mean that 13 players and three coaches, including Lennon, were quarantined for ten days after returning from their return. Hibernian and Livingston were both drafted out of league matches. Following a home loss by St Mirren, the first time the Paisley club had won at Celtic Park since 1990, there were more fan demonstrations. Despite publicly stating that he would not resign, Lennon departed the club on February 24, 2021, leaving Celtic 18 points behind Rangers in the championship race, leaving them 1–0 defeat to Ross County.

Lennon was elected head coach of Omonia's Cypriot First Division team on a two-and-a-half year contract on March 8, 2022, after replacing former Rangers defender Henning Berg. Lennon led the team to their first trophy under his guidance on May 25th as they defeated Ethnikos Achna on penalties to win the Cypriot Cup; during additional time, Lennon was given a warning and was instructed to leave the touchline by the referee.

Lennon recruited players who had worked at previous clubs, including Adam Matthews and Gary Hooper (Celtic) and Brandon Barker (Hibernian). Following losing in the Cypriot Super Cup to Apollon Limassol, Lennon's Omonia team defeated Belgian side Gent 4–0 on aggregate to qualify for the UEFA Europa League group stage. With Manchester United, Real Sociedad, and Sheriff Tiraspol, the club was drawn in Group E.

Lennon was fired by the club after losing home to newly promoted side Nea Salamis Famagusta on October 18, 2022.

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