Strachan: Lennon powerless against lure of England

Gordon Strachan helps launch the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year award. Picture: SNS

In the wake of Celtic’s second successive Scottish Premier League title triumph under his guidance at the weekend, Lennon has expressed his desire to keep his current squad intact for another shot at the Champions League next season.

Georgios Samaras has stated that titles rather than money are his motivation for remaining at Celtic and Lennon is hopeful others, such as top scorer Gary Hooper and Kenyan midfielder Victor Wanyama, can be persuaded to follow that lead.

But former Celtic boss Strachan, who appointed Lennon as club captain and later recruited him as a coach, believes the Scottish champions cannot prevent their star men from being lured elsewhere.

“It’s not just Celtic, it’s any team,” said Strachan. “If money and wages come into it, there is nothing you can do about it. If a player’s time is up at the club, then it is up.

“There are four, five or six clubs around who, if they come calling, then it’s a case of ‘See you later’ from the player. That’s just the way it is.

“Players want to make a lifestyle for their families and managers understand that.”

Strachan was speaking at the launch of the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year award for which the three final nominees will be announced next week ahead of the winner being named at the PFA’s annual Awards Dinner in Glasgow on 6 May.

The Scotland manager, who has a vote in the process, along with all 42 club managers in Scotland, sees Lennon as an obvious candidate to collect a prize Strachan himself won in 2007 and 2009.

“I don’t think it should automatically go to the guy who wins the league,” said Strachan.

“You have to look at other things, like having less resources and what you have to deal with. Also how you conduct yourself and all the rest of it.

“There are different ways of getting that Manager of the Year award.

“Derek Adams taking Ross County into the top six is a great achievement, Terry Butcher has done the same with Inverness and Stuart McCall’s Motherwell team are good to watch. But Lenny winning the league, getting to the Scottish Cup final and beating Barcelona on the way to the last 16 of the Champions League is some going.

“It was fantastic. I think Celtic developed as a team all the way through it.

“Their performances away from home in Europe were good, they developed physically and are a team who can deal with that aspect against European teams.

“They have a midfield who can deal with that. Maybe the Celtic team I had wasn’t as physical as Neil’s team, and I’m not talking about kicking people.”

Lennon’s success has also seen him linked with potential moves to managerial jobs in England but Strachan, who failed at Middlesbrough after leaving Celtic, believes job satisfaction may prove elusive elsewhere.

“Neil is hungry and just wants to keep winning,” added Strachan. “What will keep any manager at a club is to see his team developing. If that happens, there is no problem. But the thing about leaving Celtic is that sometimes it is hard to take.

“I did say when I left that there was a shelf-life for Old Firm managers and I think there is. But Neil has won two championships now and his team is encouraging. He is dealing with good players and there is nothing better as a manager than to walk in every morning and work with good players. Neil knows he’s got that at Celtic.”

Lennon was left exasperated last week by the three-match touchline ban imposed on him by a SFA Judicial Panel for foul and abusive language directed towards St Mirren captain Jim Goodwin. Asked what he made of the sanction handed out by his current employer to Lennon, Strachan replied: “F*****g ridiculous! I didn’t see the incident but someone else was telling me. I think he’s just been unfortunate that he was standing beside a mic at the time. Life can be cruel to you sometimes.

“I’ve been in front of the SFA in the past and, after a while, it’s been as case of ‘that didn’t really happen’ and then it becomes ‘that’s fine, we’re not going to do anything about it’. So you can be unfortunate at times and he has been a bit unfortunate. Someone has picked up industrial language. If the microphone is another ten yards away you get away with it. Sometimes in life you’re just unlucky, in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“As you get older, you calm down. But you can’t stop the fight in people, that’s what makes people. People ask ‘what makes a great manager?’ and if you look at all the great ones, they’ve all had periods where you look and wonder ‘what’s he up to’? Even the top man, Sir Alex Ferguson, has had times when you think that.”