Redemption or end of the road for Lennon?

The news today that Neil Lennon has been confirmed as the new manager of Rapid  Bucharest is excellent news for the affable Northern Irishman. This is his second foray into management away from British shores and a huge amount of credit needs to go to him for being willing to take the plunge again, far afield, following his short and eventful spell in Cyprus.

Neil Lennon has had an eventful career as manager, from his caretaker role at Celtic (twice) at short notice, to winning titles and trebles in Scotland, beating a Messi inspired Barcelona and winning a cup in Cyprus, there is no doubt that he has a coaching talent. At Hibs, he masterminded a cantor to the Scottish Championship title and return to the Premiership. He followed that up with a 4th placed finish the following season with some swashbuckling performances. 

For all the highs, however, there are an equal number of lows. His time at Bolton Wanderers was marred by horrendous financial difficulties but after a promising start and a rise up the table and an FA cup reply against Liverpool, things turned rapidly and the team narrowly avoided relegation. Things did not improve the following season and Lennon was 'mutually consented' by March.

In Cyprus, Lennon, again had a great start, winning the Cypriot cup in the first few months and qualifying for Europa League but once again, results turned domestically and he found himself sacked after less than 8mths in charge.

Lennon's second spell with Celtic started spectacularly with a win at his old club Hibs, steadying a nervous ship following the departure of Brendan Rogers and he deserves huge credit for seeing Celtic over the line for a third consecutive treble. He took that momentum into the following season and, despite being interrupted by Covid, steered the side an unprecedented 4th straight Treble. 

Some of the performances in that 2019/20 season, especially in the run up the postponements were excellent to watch and there is no doubt that the team would have won the title comfortably had the game not been curtailed. The Scottish Cup, and thus that 4th treble was secured during the Covid season and it was a rare bright spot in a season that was already rapidly unravelling. 

Poor signings and lack of disciple by some of his players had put the team on the back foot and Lennon seemed unable to turn the ship around. By the time of his inevitable departure, not only was the club in turmoil but Lennon appeared to be disintegrating personally week by week with more and more bizarre comments in the press. It felt almost a relief to have him relieved. A sad end to an unbelievable servant for the club.

Throughout his time in management, Lennon has been plagued by both personal and team indiscipline. From angrily confronting the referee at Hampden after defeat by hearts to being sent from the stand in his first game at Bolton after another altercation with a referee to copping a suspension for cupping his ears at Ibrox, he has regularly seen the wrong side of the law. Keeping control of that passion and channelling it into something positive is thus something that he has, thus far, not learned and this was demonstrated when being sent off in that Cypriot Cup Final, despite his team going on to win the cup. 

Another area where Lennon needs to improve is his relationship with his players. While it appears that there is a lot of love from many in the Celtic teams that he managed, there are numerous incidents where he had gotten into spats with or failed to maintain discipline from his players. He suspended Barry Bannan and Neil Danns at Bolton. Another Bolton player was seen on television mouthing obscenities to his manager and the situation at Hibs relating to ill discipline and player revolt, while never confirmed, is widely accepted as the main reason for his departure.

If Neil Lennon's undoubted talent as a coach is to succeed in the passionate environment of Romanian football, he will need to learn to be a more controlled manager, building and maintaining relationships with his players and staying the right side of the disciplinary code. If he can manage these 2 things and succeed in Bucharest, then a long future in management lies await for him. If not, this may be the end of the road for Lennon the Manager. Time will tell.