Neil Lennon

James Forrest admits getting the hairdryer from Neil Lennon again felt like a blast from the past.

The Celtic caretaker boss let rip at the squad after back-to-back goalless draws against Livingston and Hibs delayed the Hoops title party.

Forrest confessed the players had it coming and while Lenny has been more chilled in his second spell in charge he can still turn up the heat.

The attacker said: “It doesn’t matter what manager it is, the last two games haven’t been good enough and he told us that.

“Having worked with him before and now he’s back, you can see he has mellowed a bit.



“He has said that himself now he’s older and has more experience.

But that hunger is still there and he still demands the performances in training and games.

He reminded us last weekend he hasn’t mellowed that much.

“He has standards and if he’s not getting it he will let the boys know.

“The lads will tell you ourselves we didn’t do well enough at Hibs.

“So on Saturday we have to put on a performance.

Lennon handed Forrest his Celtic debut as an 18-year-old nine years ago this week – and he hit the net in the 4-0 win against Motherwell with his first touch of the ball.

It has been a trophy-laden run since and the wideman revealed it has been easy to adapt to the manager’s return.

Forrest said: “I remember making my debut – I scored with my first touch!

“It was Motherwell at home, I came on in the last 10 minutes, scored as soon as I got on the park.

“Nine years have gone by so quick. So much has happened, so many different players have come and gone – and managers too.

“It’s funny the gaffer is back now, nine years on. It has felt as if he has never been away.”

 

The buck stops with the manager, always.

 

How can Lennon be blamed for the poor recruitment of the rat? That's the main reason we have regressed.

 

Fair enough,i hoped lennon would be the man for 10 iar but im no longer convinced,whats your opinion?

 

I didn't say which manager.

 

I want us to get the best candidate that's realistically possible. Benitez might be a pipe dream but I'd certainly at least try.

Martinez's agent has ruled it out (didn't particularly want him anyway)

Rose has moved to Gladbach.

Moyes is a * no.

Michael O'Neil is a * no.

Clarke sounds like he wants a move South and it's debatable if he could handle the pressure, hysteria and obstacles that are going to be flung our way the next 2 seasons.

Villas-Boas seems fanciful.

Wagner - don't see much to suggest that he's an outstanding candidate.

Baumgart - would be a huge gamble, I can't see anything on his CV to show that he merits the job.

Alex Neil, Paul Lambert etc. etc. - meh, mediocre managers who would likely be able to win leagues with us given we operate on a bigger budget

 

We are so fortunate that the best available manager is a former Celtic player and manager, who lives locally and happens to be out of work.

If only the best available players washed up on our doorstep too.

 

Those kinds of achievements put you in contention for the Celtic job?

Can someone get Tommy Wright on the phone?

Scottish Cup
Scottish Premiership Manager of the Season
St. Johnstone's best-ever top-flight finish and points total
Three successive top-four finishes
Three Europa League campaigns
A 2-1 aggregate victory over Rosenborg in the Europa League (1-0, 1-1)

 

It was specifically a counter-point to the guys comment that he had done "sweet FA in management since", not a ringing endorsement for Lennon to get the job.

I'd imagine the difference between Lennon and Wright is that the former is a devout Celtic fan, a former captain, a former manager who experienced a good level of success domestically & in Europe and has shown that he can operate within the constraints of our budget and identify players to develop and sell on.

I'm sure you already realised that though Vert?

 

:lenny1:

 

Seems to be a recurring theme with Lenny’s teams then.

Play good football for the first season or two, then it becomes stale, pish, predictable stuff. That’s what Hibs fans have been saying about their football this season when he was in charge, and in his first spell here the football became pretty turgid.

 

Fair enough.

Tony Mowbray is too; should we consider him?

In his first season, he lost the title from a winning position, with four games remaining; had he held his nerve then, we would be challenging for ten-in-a-row next season. He won two domestic cups out of nine. He twice failed to secure European group stage football of any description.

How one interprets that is subjective, I guess.

I agree.

Apparently not.

 

Aye, get him in. That seems like a reasonable proposition

Considering he was up against statistically the best hun manager for decades who was using EBTs to get players he couldn't otherwise afford and was against the worst officiating I've seen in the 25 years I've had a season ticket, I think he done remarkably well to take it to the wire considering A. He was a complete novice and B. That he inherited a complete mess from Mowbray.

The rest has been done to death, if you don't think Lennon was successful as a Celtic manager and want to continue to draw false comparisons between him and Wright or Mowbray that's your prerogative but I'm sure you're in the minority.

 

Do you mean Lenny or the snake here?

 

So, Lennon's status as 'a devout Celtic fan', a former Celtic captain, and a former Celtic manager is irrelevant, then?

I guess that your appeal to emotion was misguided, in that case.

 

Lennon.

 

Or shine a mirror on it and if we are looking for someone who's not a Celtic fan just get fat sally.

 

That’s embarrassing.

 

I didn't at any point suggest that they were his only credentials though, which is what you've seemingly reduced it to.

They are desirable criteria that should be considered in addition to having the ability to carry out the job. A job that Lennon has done before and in my opinion done well in.

The reason I made the point was because you incorrectly assumed that my rebuttal about @MattD's nonsensical comment was me suggesting Lennon should get the Celtic job on the basis of his achievements at Hibs and then asked if Wright should be considered. I wasn't.

 

He wouldn't be given his P45, though, would he? He signed a deal until the end of the season.

If he completes the treble (that Rodgers did the vast majority of work for, btw), he should be thanked for stepping in at a difficult time, and we should both move on and do our own thing.