Neil Lennon

Neil Lennon
Personal information
Full nameNeil Francis Lennon[1]
Date of birth25 June 1971
Place of birthLurgan, Northern Ireland
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Playing positionMidfielder
Club information
Current team
Bolton Wanderers (manager)
Youth career
1987–1989Manchester City
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1986–1987Glenavon2(1)
1987–1990Manchester City1(0)
1990–1996Crewe Alexandra147(15)
1996–2000Leicester City170(6)
2000–2007Celtic214(3)
2007–2008Nottingham Forest18(0)
2008Wycombe Wanderers9(0)
Total561(25)
National team
1990–1994Northern Ireland U212(0)
1990Northern Ireland U232(0)
1994Northern Ireland B1(0)
1994–2002Northern Ireland40(2)
Teams managed
2010–2014Celtic
2014–Bolton Wanderers
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971)[2] is a football player and manager from Northern Ireland. He was appointed as manager of Football League Championship club Bolton Wanderers in October 2014.

During his playing career he represented English clubs Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra and Leicester City. Lennon moved to Scottish club Celtic in 2000, where he made over 200 appearances and was appointed captain in 2005. Before retiring as a player, he returned to England to represent Nottingham Forest and Wycombe Wanderers. Lennon made 40 appearances for Northern Ireland in nine years, scoring two goals.

Lennon was appointed manager of Celtic in March 2010, initially in a caretaker capacity after the departure of Tony Mowbray.[3][4][5] Lennon enjoyed significant success as Celtic manager, winning three Scottish league championships, two Scottish Cups and qualifying for the group stage of the Champions League twice, before leaving the club in May 2014.

Early life

Lennon was born in Lurgan, County Armagh[6] and attended St Michael's Grammar School in the town.[7] As a youngster he played gaelic football for the school and was also selected for the Armagh minor team.[8] He grew up supporting Celtic[9] and played football for the local Lurgan Celtic youth team.[10]

Club career

Lennon joined Glenavon, after reaching the final of the Milk Cup[10] and scored on his Irish League debut.[10] He then joined Manchester City as a trainee in 1987. He made one first team appearance during his time in Manchester, a league match on 30 April 1988 away against Birmingham City,[11] before signing for Crewe Alexandra on a free transfer in August 1990.[12] Lennon made his debut for Crewe on 18 September 1990 against Reading.[13] Despite missing the whole of season 1991-92 due to a back injury,[10] he became an established member of the side and impressed with his intelligent play and consistent performances.[13][14] Lennon's form saw him make his debut for Northern Ireland in 1994, and thus became the first Crewe Alexandra player in 60 years to win a full international cap.[15][16] In 5½ years at Crewe, Lennon made 187 appearances for the club and scored 18 goals.[13]

In February 1996, Lennon signed for Leicester City for a fee of £750,000.[17] In May 1996, Lennon played in the Leicester City side that defeated Crystal Palace 2-1 at Wembley in the Play-off Final to win promotion to the English Premiership.[18] On 16 April 1997, Lennnon picked up his first major winner's medal when Leicester won 1-0 against Middlesbrough in a replayed League Cup Final.[19] He played in a further two League Cup Finals during his time at Filbert Street, losing 0-1 to Tottenham Hotspur in March 1999[20] but winning 2-1 against Tranmere Rovers in February 2000.[21]

An on-field incident during a league match in 1998 against Newcastle United between Lennon and Alan Shearer resulted in the England international being charged with misconduct by the FA,[22] Television footage showed Shearer appearing to intentionally kick Lennon in the head following a challenge.[23] The referee of the game took no action against Shearer. Shearer apologised afterwards, but denied that the contact with Lennon was deliberate, and Lennon later gave evidence in Shearer's defence at the FA hearing which subsequently cleared the Newcastle and England striker of all charges.[24]

After Martin O'Neill became the new manager of Celtic in June 2000, he made several attempts to sign Lennon. Finally after months of protracted negotiations with Leicester City, on 6 December 2000 Lennon joined the club he supported as boy for a fee of £5.75 million.[25][26] That season saw Lennon pick-up three winner's medals as Celtic swept to a domestic treble, winning the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup. The next four seasons at Celtic saw Lennon win a further two league championships and two Scottish Cups. He was also an integral part of the Celtic side that reached the UEFA Cup Final in 2003, losing 2-3 to Porto after extra time.[27]

When Gordon Strachan took over from Martin O'Neill as Celtic manager in the summer of 2005, he made Lennon Celtic captain. In January 2006 when his former club Leicester City sacked Craig Levein, Lennon was linked with a return to the Midlands side in a player-manager role. He went on record saying he was flattered but wanted to captain Celtic to the Scottish Premier League title.[28] Lennon picked up his fourth League Championship medal that season on 5 April 2006 when Celtic defeated Hearts 1-0 at Parkhead.[29]

Although he was also linked with a move to Crystal Palace in a player-manager role in the summer of 2006,[30] on 23 June 2006, Celtic announced he had signed a new one-year contract. Sunderland manager Roy Keane made an attempt to sign Lennon prior to the closure of the August 2006 transfer window, but his approach for the player was rejected by Celtic. On 25 April 2007, Lennon announced he would be leaving Celtic, and in his last game for the club on 26 May 2007, he captained the team to victory in the Scottish Cup Final against Dunfermline Athletic. Celtic's 1–0 win clinched the League and Cup Double.[31]

Lennon joined Nottingham Forest on a one-year contract with an option for a second year on 12 June 2007.[32] He made his debut captaining the side in a 0–0 draw at home to Bournemouth.[33] He missed a week's training with Forest in November 2007, because of family reasons in Scotland,[34] and lost his place in the team as a consequence.[35]

Lennon joined Wycombe Wanderers on 31 January 2008,[35] leaving on 3 April to take up a coaching role with Celtic.[36]

International career

Lennon made his international debut for Northern Ireland on 11 June 1994 when he come on as a substitute in a friendly against Mexico in Miami.[13] He had to wait nearly a year for his next cap when he played against Chile in another friendly.[13] Lennon made his first competitive appearance three months later on 3 September 1995 in a European Championship qualifier away against Portugal. After that, Lennon became a fixture in the international side although Northern Ireland were unsuccessful in their attempts to qualify for the finals of major tournaments.

Lennon decided to retire from international football in August 2002 upon receiving a death threat before a Northern Ireland match against Cyprus. The threats came after his alleged claim that he wanted to play for a team representing a United Ireland.[37] The threat was allegedly made by the Loyalist Volunteer Force, although the organisation later denied this.[38][39]

Lennon was capped 40 times by Northern Ireland,[6] scoring two goals. He also captained the team on several occasions.

International goals

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first

Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 5 October 1996 Belfast, Northern Ireland  Armenia 1–0 1–1 1998 World Cup qualification[40][41]
2 18 October 1998 Belfast, Northern Ireland  Moldova 2–2 2–2 Euro 2000 qualification[42][43]

Management and coaching

Lennon was linked with the vacant manager's job at Hibernian after the resignation of John Collins,[44] but the job was given to Mixu Paatelainen. Lennon's first coaching appointment was as first team coach with Celtic in 2008.[45] After the appointment of Tony Mowbray as Celtic manager, Lennon took charge of the Celtic reserve team.[46]

Celtic manager

Following Mowbray's departure from Celtic on 25 March 2010, Lennon was appointed caretaker manager for the remainder of the 2009–10 season.[47] He appointed former team-mate Johan Mjällby as his assistant. Celtic won all of their remaining league games under Lennon, including wins over Kilmarnock,[48] Hibernian,[49] and Rangers,[50] but lost 2–0 to First Division side Ross County in the Scottish Cup.[51]

Neil Lennon returned to play for Celtic in the John Kennedy testimonial match, 9 August 2011

Lennon was appointed manager of Celtic on a full-time basis on 9 June 2010.[3][52] On 28 July, in his first competitive game as full-time manager, Celtic lost 3–0 away to Braga in the UEFA Champions League.[53] In the 2010–11 season, Lennon was given a six match touchline ban for excessive misconduct, which was later reduced to four matches after appeal.[54] He was given another four match touchline ban by the SFA following an altercation with Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist after a Scottish Cup match in March 2011.[55]

Lennon led Celtic to the final of the League Cup in March 2011, but they lost 2–1 to Rangers after extra time.[56] They remained in contention for the SPL title until the final day of the 2010–11 season, when they won 4–0 at home to Motherwell, but finished a point behind Rangers.[57] He won his first silverware as a manager when Celtic beat Motherwell 3–0 in the Scottish Cup Final a week later.[58]

After rallying from a poor start to season 2011-12, Lennon won the SPL Manager of the Month award for November 2011.[59] The club went on to win the 2011–12 Scottish Premier League and Lennon was made SFWA Manager of the Year.[60] Lennon then guided Celtic through two qualification rounds to reach the group stage of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, where Celtic beat Barcelona one day after the club's 125th birthday.[61] On 21 April 2013, Celtic retained the Premier League title.[62] Lennon finished the season by leading Celtic to a League and Cup double with a 3–0 win over Hibernian in the Scottish Cup Final.[63]

Celtic qualified for the Group Stages of the Champions League again the following season,[64] but had a dismal campaign; winning only once with a 2–1 home win over Ajax,[65] and slumping to a 6–1 rout away against Barcelona in the final group match.[66] They fared little better in the domestic cup competitions; losing 0–1 to Morton in their first game in the Scottish League Cup,[67] and losing 1–2 to Aberdeen in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.[68] The League campaign was much more impressive through; undefeated until February and losing only twice in all over the course of the season in which they scored 102 goals on the way to their third successive League title.[69] On 22 May 2014, Lennon announced that he was leaving Celtic after four years as manager. "I have parted company with Celtic," he said in a brief statement, adding "The club are in a very strong position and I wish the fans and the club all the very best for the future."[70]

Bolton Wanderers

Lennon was announced as the new manager of Bolton Wanderers on 12 October 2014, signing a four-year contract.[71] He won his first game in charge 1-0 against Birmingham City at St Andrew's stadium, although he was sent to the stands in the 81st minute after an altercation with referee Mark Hayward caused by Lennon leaving his technical area before Craig Davies's penalty was saved.[72] Lennon's first three months in charge saw Bolton rise ten places from bottom of the league up to fourteenth; a spell that included an eight match unbeaten run and four consecutive clean sheets.[73][74]

Personal life

Lennon has spoken about having suffered from depression since 2000.[75]

In September 2008, Lennon was assaulted whilst in the West End of Glasgow.[76] His attackers were subsequently charged, convicted and jailed for two years each on 16 January 2009.[77]

In January 2011, Lennon reached an out of court settlement with the Bank of Ireland after a company of which he was a director defaulted on a 3.7 million Euro loan.[78]

In January 2011, the Royal Mail intercepted packages containing bullets addressed to Lennon and Celtic and Northern Ireland players Niall McGinn and Paddy McCourt.[79] In March 2011, a suspect package addressed to him was discovered in a mail depot in Saltcoats.[80]

In March 2011, Lennon and two high-profile fans of Celtic were sent parcel bombs. The device sent to Lennon was intercepted by the Royal Mail at a depot in Kirkintilloch, Scotland whilst the two other devices were delivered, but treated as suspicious packages and were not opened.[81] (See HM Advocate v Muirhead and McKenzie.)

In response to the death threats, First Minister Alex Salmond condemned those that "use football as a pretext for their pathetic and dangerous prejudices" and UEFA President Michel Platini said he would fight violence and sectarianism. Former Celtic Director Dr. Michael Kelly described the bombs and bullets as terrorism.[82] After these threats, Lennon was subsequently put under 24-hour protection.[83]

On 31 August 2011, a Hearts supporter was found guilty of a breach of the peace, after running into the technical area of the football pitch, and shouting and swearing at Lennon, during a match against Celtic in Edinburgh on 11 May 2011.[84] A further charge of assault, aggravated by religious and racial prejudice, during the same incident, was found not proven.[84] The media and many observers disapproved of the jury's verdict, mainly because of the admission of assault from the accused, as well as the evidence presented.[85][86][86][87][88][89][90] The supporter was given an eight-month prison sentence.[91]

He is a supporter of his home-town team Lurgan Celtic F.C.[92]

Honours

Player

Lennon (bottom right) enjoying Leicester's League Cup victory on 27 February 2000
Leicester City
Celtic

Manager

Celtic

Awards and achievements

Managerial statistics

As of 27 April 2015[97]
Team Nat From To Record
GWDLWin %
Celtic Scotland March 2010 May 2014 228 159 30 39 69.74
Bolton Wanderers England October 2014 Present 37 13 11 13 35.14
Total 265 172 41 52 64.91

List of seasons

Champions Runners-up Third / SF Unfinished
Season Club Nat Domestic Continental Trophies
League Cup LC UCL UEL
2009–10 Celtic Scotland RU SF – – – 0
2010–11 Celtic Scotland RU W RU QU QU 1
2011–12 Celtic Scotland W SF RU QU GS 1
2012–13 Celtic Scotland W W SF R16 – 2

References

  1. ↑ Hugman, Barry J. (2005). The PFA Premier & Football League Players' Records 1946–2005. Queen Anne Press. p. 367. ISBN 1-85291-665-6.
  2. ↑ Neil Lennon Sporting-Heroes
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Celtic appoint Neil Lennon as their new manager Times Online, 9 June 2010 (subscription required)
  4. ↑ "Lennon the way forward for Celtic". UEFA. 9 June 2010.
  5. ↑ "Tony Mowbray leaves Celtic". STV Sport (STV Group plc). 25 March 2010.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Profile: Neil Lennon". BBC Sport. 22 August 2002. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
  7. ↑ St Michael's Mercy Mission to Mukuru St Michael's Grammar School, 24 May 2010
  8. ↑ Quinn, Jerome (18 May 2001). "Neil Lennon tips Armagh". BBC Sport.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 9.10 9.11 9.12 Lennon the man to lead Celtic's revival The Belfast Telegraph, 9 June 2010
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Berry, Gavin (1 June 2010). "Neil Lennon has the drive to be great manager and proved it when he overcame crippling spine injury, says mentor". Daily Record (Scotland).
  11. ↑ "Neil Lennon". Bluemoon. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  12. ↑ "Lennon named 3rd". Crewe Alexandra F.C. 17 November 2004. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 "Neil Lennon". Crewe Alexandra Football in the Community Scheme. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  14. ↑ Turner, Simon. "Hall of Fame: Neil Lennon". Crewe MAD. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  15. ↑ "Crewe Alexandra". BBC. 11 January 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  16. ↑ "Potted History". Crewealex.net. Retrieved 21 November 2013.
  17. ↑ "Newcastle on the verge of signing Batty". The Independent (Independent Print Limited). 23 February 1996. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  18. ↑ Rowbottom, Mike (28 May 1996). "Claridge's climax shatters Palace". The Independent. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  19. ↑ "Leicester City v Middlesbrough, 16 April 1997". 11v11.com. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  20. ↑ "Nielsen nicks it for Spurs". BBC Sport. 22 March 1999. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  21. ↑ "Leicester triumph at Wembley". BBC Sport. 27 February 2000. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  22. ↑ "Shearer charged with misconduct". BBC Sport. 7 May 1998. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  23. ↑ "10 of the worst...Fouls". ESPN Soccernet. 27 July 2005. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  24. ↑ "Shearer cleared in boot row". BBC Sport. 12 May 1998. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  25. ↑ "Lennon seals Celtic move". BBC Sport. 9 December 2000. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  26. ↑ Ley, John (7 December 2000). "Lennon realises dream to join his idols Celtic". Retrieved 15 November 2013.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 "2002/03 UEFA Cup Final". uefa.com. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  28. ↑ "Title back where it belongs, says Celtic star". MailOnline. 6 April 2006. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  29. ↑ "Crystal Palace open Lennon talks". BBC Sport. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 20 June 2006.
  30. ↑ "Celtic 1–0 Dunfermline Athletic". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 26 May 2007. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  31. ↑ "Lennon signs for the Reds". BBC Sport. 12 June 2007. Retrieved 12 June 2007.
  32. ↑ "Where are they now (I-Q)". Nottingham Forest F.C. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  33. ↑ Murdoch, Jamie (1 November 2007). "Forest explain Neil Lennon's return to Scotland". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  34. ↑ 35.0 35.1 "Veteran Lennon signs for Wycombe". BBC Sport. 31 January 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2008.
  35. ↑ Bean, Graham (26 March 2010). "In from cold, forgotten man Neil Lennon is back on centre stage". The Scotsman (Johnston Press Digital Publishing). Retrieved 2 April 2010.
  36. ↑ "Political Football: Neil Lennon". Channel 4 News. 5 October 2007. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  37. ↑ "Who really threatened to kill Neil Lennon?". Posterous (Sunday Herald). 25 August 2002. Archived from the original on 30 March 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  38. ↑ "Driven out by hate". BBC News. 22 August 2002. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  39. ↑ 1996 MATCHES EUROPE (October) Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
  40. ↑ HELD IN AN ARM LOCK; More woe for Bryan's boys! N IRELAND 1 ARMENIA 1 Sunday Mirror, 6 October 1996 (archived)
  41. ↑ (Northern) Ireland – International Results 1990–1999 – Details Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
  42. ↑ Dowie sparks recovery but slip-ups are costly Birmingham Post, 19 November 1998 (archived)
  43. ↑ "Easter Road job interests Lennon". BBC Sport. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 21 December 2007.
  44. ↑ Forsyth, Roddy (6 April 2008). "Neil Lennon in a whirl at surprise Celtic return". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  45. ↑ McInally, Gavin (5 January 2010). "Arthurlie’s Celtic clash called-off". Perth Daily Express. Archived from the original on 1 October 2013.
  46. ↑ "Celtic part company with manager Tony Mowbray". BBC Sport. 25 March 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  47. ↑ Lindsay, Clive (27 March 2010). "Celtic 3–1 Kilmarnock". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  48. ↑ Conaghan, Martin (4 April 2010). "Hibernian 0–1 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  49. ↑ Campbell, Andy (4 May 2010). "Celtic 2–1 Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  50. ↑ "Neil Lennon slams the lack of Celtic hunger and desire". BBC Sport. 27 March 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  51. ↑ New manager Neil Lennon vows to bring success back to Celtic guardian.co.uk, 9 June 2010
  52. ↑ "Braga 3–0 Celtic". BBC Sport. 28 July 2010. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  53. ↑ "Celtic accept reduced Neil Lennon ban". The Independent. 4 March 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  54. ↑ "Ally McCoist and Neil Lennon receive Hampden final bans". BBC Sport. 10 March 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  55. ↑ Campbell, Andy (20 March 2011). "Celtic 1–2 Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  56. ↑ Burke, Andy (15 May 2011). "Celtic 4–0 Motherwell". BBC Sport.
  57. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Conaghan, Martin (21 May 2011). "Motherwell 0–3 Celtic". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 May 2011.
  58. ↑ 59.0 59.1 "Celtic's Neil Lennon, Gary Hooper and James Forrest win awards". BBC Sport. 9 December 2011. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
  59. ↑ 60.0 60.1 60.2 Fisher, Stewart (6 May 2012). "Title just the start for Lennon". Sunday Herald (Herald & Times Group). Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  60. ↑ "Celtic shock Barcelona with goals from Victor Wanyama and Tony Watt". The Guardian. 7 November 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  61. ↑ 62.0 62.1 "Celtic 4 Inverness 1: Hooper at the double as Bhoys retain SPL title in style". Daily Mail. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  62. ↑ 63.0 63.1 Lamont, Alasdair (26 May 2013). "BBC Sport - Scottish Cup final: Hibernian 0-3 Celtic". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  63. ↑ "Barcelona, Milan, Ajax and Celtic drawn together". UEFA.com. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  64. ↑ Lamont, Alasdair (22 October 2013). "Celtic 2 Ajax 1". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  65. ↑ Lamont, Alasdair (11 December 2013). "Barcelona 6 Celtic 1". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  66. ↑ "Celtic 0 - 1 Morton". BBC Sport. 24 September 2014. Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  67. ↑ MacDonald, Calum (8 February 2014). "Celtic 1 - 2 Aberdeen". Retrieved 17 March 2014.
  68. ↑ 69.0 69.1 "Celtic 3 Dundee Utd 1: champion Hoops take home the trophy". Herald Online. 11 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  69. ↑ McLaughlin, Chris (22 May 2014). "Neil Lennon ends his four-year spell as manager". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
  70. ↑ "Neil Lennon: Bolton appoint ex-Celtic boss as manager". BBC Sport. 12 October 2014. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  71. ↑ "Birmingham 0-1 Bolton". BBC Sport. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2014.
  72. ↑ "Millwall 0 - 1 Bolton" (19 DECEMBER 2014). BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  73. ↑ "Huddersfield 2 - 1 Bolton Wanderers Bolton". BBC Sport. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  74. ↑ Christie, David (24 February 2007). "Lennon's 'pride' over depression". The Herald (Glasgow).
  75. ↑ "Lennon knocked out during attack". BBC News. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  76. ↑ ""Brutal" lennon attackers jailed". BBC News. 16 January 2009. Retrieved 16 January 2009.
  77. ↑ "Bank and Celtic boss Lennon's firm in court settlement". BBC News. 25 January 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  78. ↑ Murray, Ewan (9 January 2010). "Neil Lennon brushes aside bullets threat as Celtic ease past Berwick". The Guardian.
  79. ↑ Mackie, Allan (4 March 2011). "Police investigate hoax bomb linked to Neil Lennon". Scotsman.com News. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
  80. ↑ "Neil Lennon parcel bomb 'cowardly act'". BBC News. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  81. ↑ "In quotes: Reaction to Celtic bomb threats". BBC News. 20 April 2011.
  82. ↑ "Charged with a religious hate crime, the fan 'who attacked Celtic manager during Scottish football match'", Daily Mail, 12 May 2011
  83. ↑ 84.0 84.1 "Fan cleared of Lennon attack after not proven verdict". BBC News. 31 August 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  84. ↑ Cochrane, Alan (2 September 2011). "Neil Lennon assault case: an incredible verdict". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  85. ↑ 86.0 86.1 "Football lout cleared of assaulting Celtic boss Neil Lennon – despite admitting it in court". Daily Mirror. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  86. ↑ Wight, John (1 September 2011). "Celtic Manager Neil Lennon Denied Justice". Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  87. ↑ "Neil Lennon verdict 'utterly bizarre and inexplicable', says top lawyer". STV Group plc. 1 September 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  88. ↑ Bell, Ian (4 September 2011). "Back to the drawing board on bigotry ... and yes, I blame the jury". The Herald (Glasgow: Herald & Times Group). Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  89. ↑ Silvester, Norman (4 September 2011). "John Reid reveals fury over jury verdict and warns Alex Salmond over new hate laws". Daily Record (Scotland). Retrieved 6 September 2011.
  90. ↑ "Neil Lennon assault man sentenced". BBC News. 15 September 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
  91. ↑ http://lowerleaguemanager.com/gazeteer/northern-ireland/lurgan-celtic/
  92. ↑ Brodie, Malcolm (14 May 2001). "Lennon wins top award from Irish journalists". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  93. ↑ 94.0 94.1 94.2 94.3 94.4 94.5 94.6 94.7 94.8 94.9 94.10 94.11 "Neil Lennon". Northern Ireland's Football Greats. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  94. ↑ "Monthly Awards – September 2010". cbfootball.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
  95. ↑ "Monthly Awards – January 2011". cbfootball.co.uk. Archived from the original on 15 May 2011. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  96. ↑ "Neil Lennon managerial statistics". Soccerbase. Racing Post. Retrieved 13 March 2013.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Jackie McNamara		 Celtic captain
2005–2007 		Succeeded by
Stephen McManus