Alan Thompson's delight at Celtic return

What a contrast from his exit four seasons ago. For while Thompson was an integral part of one of the most successful eras in Celtic's history, winning nine major honours as a combative and intelligent midfield player following his capture by Martin O'Neill back in 2000, he left the club without any fanfare.

As he became an increasingly marginalised figure under O'Neill's successor Gordon Strachan, the Englishman's morale slumped in tandem with his diminishing influence as a first team player.

In the summer of 2006, Thompson reached a nadir which would reduce him to tears. After publicly criticising Celtic's pre-season schedule, which saw them travel to Poland and the United States, Thompson found himself travelling back to Glasgow alone as he quit the American leg of the tour early.

The official reason given by the club at the time was that he was suffering from a thigh strain. But as he admitted yesterday on his return to Celtic as first team coach under new manager Neil Lennon, the truth was somewhat different. "There were stories in the papers saying I was injured or this, that and the other, but I wasn't," said Thompson. "Gordon just saw how unhappy I was within myself and he knew he didn't want to use me in the pre-season games, so he gave me the opportunity to go home.

"I knew that was the end of it then. It was a shock, being on a flight back from Boston on my own, knowing that was me done really. It was the longest journey of my life. I shed a couple of tears.

"Gordon was putting me on for five or 10 minutes at the end of pre-season games. I'm not going to sit here and slag Gordon off, because we had a good relationship. He treated me like a man. Not many managers would say to a player 'listen, I understand how you are feeling, I know where we stand, go home if you want'. I took him up on it.

"It was the right time for me to go, but I wouldn't have chosen the circumstances. At the time, there were players like Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady coming through who had a little bit more in their locker than I did.

"But I left on a sour note. I just walked out of the side door one day without really saying goodbye to anyone. I have been back a few times for big games since I left, but I'm overjoyed to come back in this way now."

In linking up with Lennon again, Thompson is fulfilling a commitment the pair made to each other many years ago as they mapped out a career beyond playing. "We did our 'B' licence when we were playing together at Celtic," he added. "We spoke about it back then, there was always an agreement we would try to go into management together one day. Neil knew what he wanted to do, so did I. He always knew he wanted to manage and I always knew I wanted to coach.

"Who's to say I don't want to have a crack at management myself somewhere down the line? I do, but not for the foreseeable future. I admire Neil for going straight into management and I have every faith in him. I've got every confidence he can go and be a big success for many years. He is switched on, he is bright, he knows the game and he knows the club."

Thompson was the first person Lennon called for help when he was appointed interim manager at Celtic in March, but the 36-year-old was understandably unwilling to leave his full-time job as Newcastle United's reserve team coach in such uncertain circumstances. "I first spoke to Neil about it when he became caretaker," said Thompson. "I was in a permanent job at Newcastle at the time, though, so it wasn't going to happen. Neil understood that I couldn't leave my position at Newcastle for what might just be nine games.

"It was then just a case of hanging on. I know it has dragged on for longer than we would have wanted. I was actually on holiday in Dubai last week when he called to say he had got the job. That was a nice moment and suddenly I had to get my football head back on.

"Newcastle is a special place and always will be. But from my memories of Celtic, it was a no-brainer for me to come here."

If comparisons between Lennon and Martin O'Neill are easy to make, Thompson is happy to model himself more on his former manager's coaching lieutenants John Robertson and Steve Walford as he bids to restore domestic pre-eminence to Celtic. "Robbo and Wally were big influences on me," he said. "They were great on the training ground. They were very important to the manager, in terms of advising him behind closed doors. I'm sure Martin appreciated what they did for him.

"We often used to sit down and have discussions with Martin. He would say 'Thommo, you're talking *****'. No, we often used to have a chat with him and his staff. It's no surprise people like Paul Lambert, Chris Sutton and now Neil have gone into managerial careers."

Of the 51 goals Thompson scored for Celtic, seven of them were in Old Firm games and two of those matchwinners. While he was also sent off twice against Rangers, he brought an intensity to the fixture he hopes he can help Lennon instil in the current squad. "You need ability to succeed on the pitch for Celtic, but you also have to have a certain mentality," he added. "You have to be able to take abuse. That's something Neil and I certainly got in Rangers games. It was something we both thrived on. We know they are huge games in the course of a season and the four games are going to be vital next season to the outcome of the title race."