Neil Lennon denies warning Dan Petrescu off Celtic

NEIL Lennon’s agent has denied claims made by Dan Petrescu that the former Chelsea defender turned down the vacant job at Celtic after speaking with the “previous manager”.

Lennon's agent says the former boss was "confused" by the comments. Picture: Jane Barlow

The Romanian, who managed Unirea Urziceni against Rangers in the 2009 Champions League group stage, made the statement on Romanian TV, eluding to an apparent conversation with Lennon who warned him about existing problems at Celtic Park.

Petrescu chose instead to manage Qatari club Al Arabi, while Celtic hired Ronny Deila to succeed Lennon.

Martin Reilly, Lennon’s long-standing representative, has insisted that the former Celtic boss was perplexed by the comments.

“We saw the story in the Daily Record and we are a bit confused by what is being claimed,” said Reilly.

“I’ve spoken to Neil about it and I can assure you he has not had any discussions with Dan.

“We can only assume something has been lost in translation.

“Neil would never warn anyone not to move to Celtic.”

Lennon is still searching for his next job in football after leaving Parkhead at the end of last season.