Tom Boyd backs Lennon to relight Celtic fire

But the former club captain believes his old team-mate Neil Lennon is made of sterner stuff than either Liam Brady or John Barnes and will not suffer the same fate they did when they took their first managerial jobs at Parkhead.

Boyd was signed for Celtic by Brady in 1991, the celebrated former Arsenal and Republic of Ireland midfielder having been handed the job at the age of 35 shortly after hanging up his boots. It proved a chastening experience for Brady who was dismissed two years later. Barnes' tenure was even briefer and more wretched, Celtic's decision to recruit another 35-year-old rookie in 1999 backfiring when he was sacked after just seven months.

Concerns have been raised that Lennon's lack of experience leaves him vulnerable to similar misfortune but Boyd sees key differences in the make-up of the man alongside whom he enjoyed great success in Celtic's post-Barnes revival under Martin O'Neill.

"I don't see the same thing happening at all," said Boyd. "Neil's attitude and determination as a player were different to both Liam Brady and John Barnes. I'm not being disrespectful to Neil, but Liam and John were both exceptionally gifted and naturally talented footballers.

"In contrast, Neil had to work so hard in his playing career to get to where he was. Even now, listening to the way he speaks, you can sense he will get the passion back into the club. That wasn't the remit or the style of either Liam or John.

"From the moment Martin first brought Neil to Celtic, you could tell he was a potential manager in the making. He is very thorough, a very deep thinker. The best managers are and always have been passionate about the game. Neil has that ingredient. I see a lot of Martin in him. A key element of Martin's man-management skills was to be able to get that passion instilled in footballers, to make them have pride in themselves to perform. He gave them that fear of losing.

"You see Martin's influence now in Paul Lambert at Norwich City and Neil has it too. The hardest part is to get modern footballers to believe in what you say and the best managers can do that. It's about getting players to take more pride in themselves and feel it when they lose. That has been missing. I don't think it hurts modern footballers enough when they lose.

"If you can get that fire in your belly, if Neil can get that back, then the rest will follow. It will be hard to emulate the Martin O'Neill years unless the club give him the funds to buy players like Chris Sutton and John Hartson. But he can certainly try to instil a belief in the team with the players he has available. Even if you are not playing well, most supporters will accept it if they can see that desire and drive in your performance."

A regular attendee at Celtic Park since he retired in 2003, Boyd welcomes Lennon's desire to "bring the thunder" back to the stadium and is hopeful some of the club's more fair-weather supporters will return to give their full backing to the new manager.

"I know where Neil is coming from," said Boyd. "We got that feeling about the club in Martin's first season and the momentum carried us forward. The atmosphere at Celtic Park has been sadly lacking in recent times. It's an important season coming up, but it's not as bad as it has been in the past. I was part of that in the early 1990s. There were poorer crowds back then.

"I know I'm in a fortunate position now of being able to go to all the games at Celtic Park with my son and my father, but if you support the club I believe you should be there through thick and thin. You shouldn't just pick and choose, because the manager doesn't have experience or isn't a big name."

Tom Boyd was speaking at Hampden where he presented medals to children who took part in Glasgow's mile-a-thon event celebrating 2500 years of the marathon and raising funds for the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice.