Neil Lennon has said that the Celtic fans will love Eddie Howe if the Englishman, who is favourite to replace Lennon, is appointed. The 49-year-old was on media duty with BBC 5Live and was asked about the prospect of former Bournemouth boss Howie arriving at the club Lennon has had a twenty-year affinity with. Lennon reckons that the appointment of Howe would be a coup for the club as they look to wrestle back the league title.
Celtic fans are awaiting news in the coming days about the new management setup at the club with Richard Hughes, Fergal Harkin and Eddie Howe all nearing completion, according to widespread reports. However, instead of wishing him well in the usual platitudes that managers go for, Lennon showcased his class as a man, offering some advice whilst crediting the style of play that Howe managed to instil at The Cherries.
“It’s quite a culture shock and if we are hypothetically talking about Eddie he’s coming from a real family club like Bournemouth. He’s lived there and worked there all his career.
“I think it would be a coup for Celtic to get someone like Eddie, I think he’s a top coach. His style of play suits a club like Celtic, he’d be ingratiated with the Celtic fans very quickly if he can adopt that style that he had at Bournemouth.
“In the Championship and then in the first formative years in the Premier League they were great to watch. But off the field, away from the training ground, life’s going to be very, very different to what he was used to at Bournemouth.
“Glasgow’s not a huge city but you’ve got two humongous clubs there and the rivalry is thousands of years old – and it’ll go on for the next thousand years as well. So it’s exciting, but it’ll take a bit of adapting for him there’s no question about that.”
Howe and Lennon are certainly different types of managers with the 43-year-old representing a modern, progressive coach – something that the club requires following Brendan Rodgers’ era at the club. However, if he can have just a small measure of the love for Celtic that Lennon has, we will be onto a winner as he combines the modern approach with the will for the club to succeed.
Lennon has won ten titles with Celtic, eight Scottish Cups and three league cups in two spells as manager and one as a player. He will always be a Celtic legend but it was clear that his time as manager was up. Lennon will be recognised for all that he has done for the club but it may take some time as this season has been incredibly tough for everyone involved.
