CELTIC have confirmed that Neil Lennon is the new manager and will work with a 12 month rolling contract. John Kennedy will is also confirmed as Celtic’s assistant manager, with Damien Duff also continuing in his role as first-team coach.
Neil Lennon, back from his short break in Spain, spoke if his delight to the official Celtic website after all the formalities were completed with the club.
“It is a massive honour to be named Celtic manager once again. I had always dreamed of returning to this role on a permanent basis and I am absolutely delighted to once again be part of one of the biggest and best clubs in the world – an institution which really does mean so much to me and one which has always been such a huge part of my life.
“When I was asked to take over in February, I felt it was my duty to do so. Celtic will always be my club and I wanted to help finish the job which had been started.
“I was delighted with the way the players stuck to their task and delivered another historic success, which is unlikely to ever be repeated. I was also delighted to receive such great support from our fans since returning, something for which I will be forever grateful.
“In the space of just a few weeks, Trophy Day at Celtic Park and securing the Treble Treble at Hampden are two of my greatest days in football. The energy, total commitment and passion from our supporters, the effort, the talent and desire from our players. It’s these qualities which make our club great and deliver such historic occasions.
“I want to be part of delivering more of these great days and great achievements and I look forward to working with the players, the staff and the fans to make this happen.”
Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell, who made the announcement that Lenny would be getting the job shortly after the final whistle at Hampden on Saturday also spoke of the board’s delight at the appointment.
“We’re delighted to name Neil as our new manager. Neil stepped up to the plate and answered our call in February, and in the difficult circumstances, played a huge part in delivering the treble to Celtic.
“We have known Neil as a player, captain, coach and manager. He has brought great success to Celtic in the past and we’re sure he’ll do so again in the future. He’s a Celtic man, a winner and someone we’re delighted again to have as part of the club.
“Neil has a great record in identifying players, and he has already been working hard in this area as we look to strengthen the squad this summer. We’re all looking forward to a positive future together.”
On the day Brendan Rodgers was confirmed, after a bitter disappointment at Hampden in the Scottish Cup semi-final (this remains the last domestic cup defeat for Celtic and it was really a draw), the sun was shining brightly and 13,000 gathered to welcome the new manager, excited about what was to follow.
Today there are three trophies in the cabinet, Neil Lennon collected two of them, but it has been peeing down with rain and there were no crowds to welcome the ‘new’ manager back to the club. By comparison it’s a low-key appointment but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad one.
This site was always in favour of Lenny getting the job. We never reckoned that the big name alternatives were realistic and that it would have ended up going to David Moyes or worse had there not been some support for Neil Lennon – who we believe can and will deliver 10IAR IF he is backed.
Peter Lawwell said that he would be and we’ll all be keeping a very close eye on this over the summer.
Welcome home Lenny!
