Neil Lennon 'hungry' to capitalise on golden, unexpected chance at Celtic

• Neil Lennon

While the first to admit this is neither how or when he imagined the prospect of becoming Celtic manager would present itself to him, Lennon intends to fully seize his moment as Tony Mowbray's successor.

Handed the job on an interim basis until the end of the season following Mowbray's sacking on Thursday, the former Celtic captain made it clear yesterday he wants to make it a permanent arrangement.

The Celtic board have set Lennon a target of winning the Scottish Cup and closing the gap on Rangers at the top of the SPL in the maximum of ten matches remaining for the Parkhead side in a thus far fraught and unfulfilling campaign.

Although he has received no assurances he will be given the job if he meets those demands, Lennon senses a golden, if unexpected, chance to enhance his credentials.

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"Out of crisis comes opportunity," he said, "so I have to make the most of it. I have the job to the end of the season and we'll see how it goes from there. It's an opportunity I couldn't turn down, although I'd like to have got the job in different circumstances.

"My remit is to try to win as many games as we can between now and the end of the season, try to get as close to Rangers as we can, and try to win the Scottish Cup. In my mind, I am the Celtic manager until I am told otherwise. The club haven't told me I will definitely get the job if it goes well over the remaining games, but I am in pole position."

The 38-year-old has been on the backroom staff at Celtic for the last two years, first replacing the late Tommy Burns as first team coach under Gordon Strachan before being redeployed by Mowbray to take charge of the club's development squad. But Lennon is confident his relative lack of top-flight coaching experience need not be a hindrance to his potential appointment, believing his deep-rooted connection with the club carries greater significance.

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"The most experienced of managers could come here and not do as well as expected," reasoned Lennon. "My experience is that I've played the game for 20 years, I've been at Celtic for ten years, I know the culture of the club and the culture of the country.

"I know the footballing culture. There is nothing here that will spring up any surprises for me. I know the expectation level of the club from the supporters, and rightly so, they expect us to be challenging for the league and winning football games. I have to transmit that to the players as quickly as possible. I do think it is important for the manager here to have an understanding of what the supporters want and an understanding of the history of the club.

"When Peter Lawwell called me off the training ground on Thursday and said they wanted me to take over until the end of the season, it was a no-brainer for me. There is an element of going into the unknown, but I have confidence in myself. I know one thing that's guaranteed at Celtic or Rangers is criticism. You have to take it and accept it for what it is. If I can please some of the people all the time, or all of the people some of the time, then I'll be happy.

"I had a couple of opportunities over the past year or so to leave here and manage, but I just felt the time wasn't right. I wanted to finish off my Uefa Pro Licence course and then maybe look at things after that. When Gordon Strachan left, I thought my time was up, but Peter Lawwell made it clear he wanted me to stay here to develop as a coach.

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"This is a huge chance for me to make a name for myself at a club where I want to be. I'm ambitious and I'm hungry, but I know this might be the shortest managerial job for a while. But I've got to take it on and make as much of it as I can."

While it appeared Lennon had largely been frozen out of the first-team scene by Mowbray, he insists their relationship was positive. But he believes Mowbray's footballing ideals were perhaps always destined to fail in the unforgiving arena inhabited by the Old Firm.

"I am not going to criticise Tony's philosophy on the game," said Lennon. "That was his way of doing things. I've worked under different managers and had a different upbringing in the game under Martin O'Neill and then under Gordon Strachan. I think you have to look at your players and get what you think are your best players on the pitch, in the formation that suits them the best, and let them get on with it.

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"I had a good relationship with Tony. I won't make things up. He was supportive of everything I wanted to do with the young players. Six or seven weeks ago, he invited me in and around the first-team dressing room because he thought I had something to offer. It wasn't as if I was completely swatted out of the way. I did like Tony's ideas on the game and the way he was trying to make the team play, but sometimes you just don't have the personnel for that or the culture of the game up here just doesn't allow it."

During his seven successful years as a Celtic player and captain, Lennon became one of the highest-profile figures in the Scottish game, often at a personal cost off the field. Although not without reservations over returning to the spotlight, he stressed he is ready for it.

"I won't be able to go to the pub on a Friday night anymore, that's for sure," he smiled. "Listen, I wouldn't say I'm happy about the attention I'll now get again, but it goes with the territory of the job. And I want the job, it's as simple as that.

"Anyway, my life didn't change that much when I was out of the spotlight. I didn't have to deal with the press or having photographers outside my house every day, but I was still recognised walking down the street in Glasgow. It's hard for me not to be. There will be commitments I have to deal with, but I won't get caught up in the hype of it and I'm not going to change.

"I'm still a young-looking guy, but come and look at me in June and you'll see what affect, if any, the job has on me."