Celtic boss Neil Lennon: We could have played better but players deserve to enjoy it

Neil Lennon celebrates at Rugby Park in 2012 after a 6-0 win over Kilmarnock clinched his first title as Celtic manager. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty

“Maybe they are looking at what’s happened with Ole at Manchester United,” joked Lennon when asked for the umpteenth time if there was any update on his situation with the Scottish champions.

The analogy with the Old Trafford club’s dramatic dip in form and results after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was formally handed the managerial reins after a brilliant spell in caretaker charge was made in jest by Lennon but perhaps carries some resonance.

He has, after all, done everything asked of him since answering the call to replace Brendan Rodgers in February. Celtic can wrap up another title triumph with just a point against Aberdeen at Pittodrie tomorrow and have a Scottish Cup Final date with Hearts three weeks later when a triple treble could be secured.

There is a sense that both Lennon and the club are content to wait until the end of the season before addressing the situation.

Certainly, Lennon feels he has enough on his plate just completing the job started by Rodgers before his departure to Leicester City.

While the team Lennon inherited were already in a commanding position in the title race, it’s a task he admits has been far more testing that he had imagined.

“It’s a huge challenge,” he reflected. “I came in and didn’t realise how critical a stage of the season it was, really. There was a lot of disaffection around the place with the fans and you don’t know what impact that might have on the players  privately. But they have done great. It’s a really difficult challenge and we are still not there yet. When we do, we can evaluate things a bit.

“There were a lot of injuries when I came in and there was a bit of re-jigging the team each week. But, in the main, the players have been fantastic. We can play better, no question, and hopefully that will come in the next few weeks. But they keep going to the well and finding answers, so you can’t ask any more.

“They have been very, very good at that. They play the big games really well. Even watching from the outside looking in, I thought that. They play the semi-finals and finals very well. Their mentality has been under a lot of scrutiny. We are looking for more of the same between now and the end of the season.

“It will be up to the club [when job talks take place]. I’m in daily contact with Peter Lawwell (Celtic chief executive) but I haven’t pushed the button on that one. It’s just as it has been since February.

“But I am getting to enjoy it a bit more as we go along. It’s been really tough and a great challenge. We are nearly there, but not quite there yet, so I have to keep my focus on that more than anything else.”

Lennon’s first spell as Celtic manager saw him oversee the first three of the club’s current run of seven consecutive league titles. He recalls being far more relaxed and feeling less pressure when winning the first of them in 2012. It was clinched in emphatic fashion with five games to spare with a 6-0 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

“I’d been in the building for two years as manager by then, I knew all the players and the style of play we had set out,” added Lennon.

“Winning your first league championship as a manager is always special and we did it with a bit of style as well.

“I would love to replicate that on Saturday but I am not holding my breath. We are going to have play well, play strong. We know what’s at stake and what we have to do. We have kept things calm to let the players breathe and enjoy the week.

“Once you get over the line, people will start talking about nine and ten in a row. They don’t enjoy what’s there in front of them. Maybe in five or ten years time, they look back on this period as a great one in the club’s history. But we want to enjoy the moment as well.

“You have to try to reflect on it, otherwise you never get time to enjoy it. It’s not just me, I think it’s important for the players to really take in what they are doing.

“Winning this many titles in a row has not been done since Rangers in the 1990s and, before that, the Lisbon Lions era. So I think it’s important they have an opportunity to take stock, give themselves a breather and say ‘well done’. Not many people do that. It’s just ‘the next thing is Rangers, the next thing is Hearts, the next thing is the cup final’. So, if we get over the line on Saturday, have a couple of days of reflection on what has been a very tough season.”