Former Celtic boss Neil Lennon has been speaking to talksport today regarding the recently vacated managers job at Sunderland, claiming the post is definitely ‘appealing’ but that he understands that there will be plenty of competition for the role, stating there is an abundance of other managers like himself who are currently seeking employment.
Speaking about the vacant post at the League One club, Lennon said:
“It’s very appealing I think. It has a fantastic fanbase and in a reasonably good position in the league, that would be a job anyone would be interested in. But it is so competitive now, the manager’s race to get back in or keep your job. There are so many good coaches around.
“England is the place everyone wants to be. The Premier League is the marquee league. It is a tremendous product now, so great to watch. But the pandemic affected a lot of clubs and a bit of normality has come back into it.”
As Lennon alluded to, there has been an enormous list of candidates linked with the Black Cats job, including big names such as Alex Neil and former Celtic player Roy Keane, who of course managed at The Stadium of Light before, getting them promoted from the Championship to the Premier League in the process.
Lennon isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket however as the former midfield general stated that he may also consider a career outside of the UK. He even hinted that one such opportunity may already be in the offing, and used current Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou’s success at Parkhead as an example of such a move out of your comfort zone proving successful. He said:
“I have spoken to one or two clubs abroad and there is maybe one in the offing still although I can’t touch on it publicly. Look at Ange coming to Scotland, I think it gives you a fuller outlook on the game.”
The former Celtic captain and manager then went on to speak about his time at Parkhead, and explained he knows exactly how the two managers who battled it out during the Glasgow derby on Wednesday night would have been feeling throughout the game and during the days that followed. He said:
“Managing was a great privilege. I played, captained, coached and then managed the club twice. They were the best years of my life. It is 24/7, there’s no question of that, but it’s everything you dream of.
“I knew exactly what Ange was going through on Wednesday night because it was an amazing first half performance. Psychologically the momentum is with Celtic at the minute. Gio will be sitting in a dark room for a couple of days scared to pop his head out.”
Although things ended badly between Lennon and the Celtic fans due to an abysmal season leading to the man from Lurgan resigning as the pressure to leave became insurmountable, many Celtic fans like myself will still hope Lennon can reignite his managerial career elsewhere.
A notoriously troubled club such as Sunderland may not be the best option for Lennon but wherever he ends up I hope he can go on and prove to be a successful manager once again.
Incidentally his time out of the game Neil Lennon has caught up with some high quality Celtic reading…
Conall McGinty
