Hibernian vacancy of interest to former Celtic manager

Neil Lennon has stated that he would be interested in talking to Hibs about returning as manager of the football club. The former Hoops boss also had a stint at Easter Road not long before he returned to Paradise in the aftermath of Brendan Rodgers’ departure down south with Leicester City.

The Leith outfit have parted ways with Englishman, Lee Johnson, after a terrible run of results that have left them in a dangerous place presently. Those in charge of the club will be hoping they can get the right man through the door to rectify the situation thag has unfolded at the Edinburgh side and bring better prospects in future.

Derek McInnes and Stephen Robinson have been floated as potential candidates, as has Ross County boss, Malky MacKay and now Neil Lennon. It remains to be seen if Hibernian would be so keen on bringing the Lurgan man back to the club after the acrimonious circumstances in which his last spell ended.

That being said, Lennon said he would be more than willing to talk if they approached him about their current vacancy. Speaking to PLZ Soccer, he said: “Of course because I’ve been there before. Its a big club, it’s got potential. But there has been change after change after change at coach level. There’s been no consistency and that’s probably the most important role in the whole of the club. They have to get the next appointment right for longevity and stability.

“I’ve watched Hibs a few times this season and going forward they’ve got some really good players and good speed in the team. But defensively they’re not working hard enough at stopping opportunities, stopping crosses and that needs to be corrected before they can make progress.”

When quizzed on what he would need if he were to go back to the hot seat, he replied: “We’re not doing down this hypothetical route, we can’t. There will be a load of applications for the job and the club need to get it right. Whether they approach me or not and then we can maybe have a conversation, but that’s as far as we can go with it at the minute.”

The ex-Celtic and Bolton Wanderers boss then gave his appraisal of the current Hibs squad, adding: “The backline does need addressed. Whether they can bring anyone else in because they have spent money. Whether the window shuts or not there is still a squad of players who are far better than they are showing. I don’t think they need to make a rash decision. They’ve got one more game before the international row so they can get their ducks in a row. I think that’ll be the approach they take.”

Paul Gillespie