NEIL LENNON, the New Celtic manager and Peter Lawwell the club’s CEO, gave an insight into what actually happened after the players and management returned to the dressing room at Hampden this afternoon with the Scottish Cup safely retained.
If things were rather chaotic and strange in that dressing room then that theme continued as the Treble Treble winners took to the open top buses to head into Gorbals and the Gallowgate.
Passing the Internationale Bar at the very start of the journey before reaching the tens of thousands of supporters waiting in the city centre for the buses to arrive, this happened…
Check out the players reaction to the Hoops fan on the bottom right of the photo – hope he’s okay!
Peter Lawwell, speaking to the media after today’s Scottish Cup final victory over Hearts confirmed that Neil Lennon had been offered The Celtic manager’s job on a permanent basis.
“I am delighted to announce that after today’s events we have offered Neil Lennon the job to be the permanent Celtic manager.
“We’ve communicated this to him just 10 minutes ago. We wanted to wait until the end of the season, to show him respect and to give him clarity and focus on winning the treble.
“It’s been a fantastic day and a fantastic achievement probably never to be repeated.
“His credentials, he is a Celtic man, he was made for Celtic. He knows the city of Glasgow and he is a winner.
“At this point, looking at our squad, there is nobody that I have worked with that has a better eye for a player.
“Over the next few days we will work out the details. We did this today in order to kill speculation for our supporters.”
And Neil Lennon is clearly delighted at the news he received shortly after the players made their way back to the Hampden dressing rooms with the Scottish Cup safely retained. And he had probably one of the most important conversations of his life with Celtic hierarchy while completely drenched in Champagne!
“It has been my privilege to manage this club once, but to do it a second time, I feel like I have come full circle.
“It was always an objective. I left the club on good terms last time and nothing has changed.
“It has been a roller-coaster couple of months. It has been difficult, but I hope I can bring a lot more success going forward,” Lenny said to the media as reported by Sky Sports.
And Lenny took this further later on in the evening. As it was Celtic’s most important 25th May ever, Lenny adapted the Bill Shankly quote to Jock from Lisbon 67, to tell the current crop of Celtic players – ‘You’re Immortal.’
He revealed that his chat with the Celtic bosses lasted around five minutes and that all the details can be sorted out over the next week or so.
“I think that there is a good chance I’ll accept. It means everything to me. It’s a privilege. It was a privilege the first time.
“They asked me in the dressing room, with Dermot Desmond, the chairman (Iain Bankier) and Tom Allison. I was dripping in champagne.
“We’d a five-minute conversation that could be life-changing for me.”
Peter Lawwell had told the press that Lenny was going to be offered the job regardless of how the Scottish Cup Final panned out, something Lennon was glad he wasn’t aware of ahead of the 2-1 victory over Hearts.
“I never second guessed anything. These guys are class people. I trust them. If anyone has dealt with Dermot Desmond they will know you get what you see,” Lenny said.
“Would it have helped if I knew before the game? No, it keeps you on your toes.”
Lenny is aware that there is a sizeable section of The Celtic support who would have preferred someone else got the job and he’ll do all he can to win them over.
“I’m a bit more rounded than I was nine years ago. I’ve had highs and lows, I’m more experienced, a bit more nous about the game and maybe not as aggressive as I once was but I’m still competitive and want to win.”
And while the focus is on bringing more success to the club the next title is number nine and not the holy grail big Ten, that can wait, Lenny says.
“We need to get the nine first and that will be tough. I’ve learned to stay in the present. I want to enjoy the moment, enjoy tonight. I want the players to bask in the glory.
“It’s hard to quantify what they have done. It’s historic. Hearts made it difficult for them but they are immortal now.”
And captain Scott Brown has revealed that all of the players are delighted that Neil Lennon has been appointed as the next Celtic manager.
“It’s phenomenal. It can’t get much better. We all found out on Twitter and all the lads are diving about in the changing room. We went out, got the gaffer and brought him back in,” Broony said.
Congratulations Lenny pic.twitter.com/SONr9TXJ8b
— Ginty (@Ginty1888) May 25, 2019
“The cheer for the manager to get the job – it was phenomenal. It has been a hard one since he came in but he’s the only man in my eyes for the job. He has had to win two trophies and yet again he has shown that he knows how to win trophies.
“He’s a fantastic man manager and he’s been fantastic since he came in. He speaks well and every single one in that changing room loves him.”
???? Scott Brown speaking about Neil Lennon being offered the job on a permanent basis:
“It’s phenomenal. It can’t get much better. We all found out on Twitter and all the lads are diving about in the changing room. We went out, got the gaffer and brought him back in.“ pic.twitter.com/4k0324SOH8
— CelticBible (@CelticBible) May 25, 2019
