Neil Lennon facts for kids
Lennon at Celtic Park in 2006
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 25 June 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Lurgan, Northern Ireland | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Lurgan Celtic | |||
| 1986–1987 | Glenavon | ||
| 1987–1989 | Manchester City | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1986–1987 | Glenavon | 2 | (1) |
| 1987–1990 | Manchester City | 1 | (0) |
| 1990–1996 | Crewe Alexandra | 147 | (15) |
| 1996–2000 | Leicester City | 170 | (6) |
| 2000–2007 | Celtic | 214 | (3) |
| 2007–2008 | Nottingham Forest | 18 | (0) |
| 2008 | Wycombe Wanderers | 9 | (0) |
| Total | 561 | (25) | |
| National team | |||
| 1990–1994 | Northern Ireland U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 1990 | Northern Ireland U23 | 2 | (0) |
| 1994 | Northern Ireland B | 1 | (0) |
| 1994–2002 | Northern Ireland | 40 | (2) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 2008–2009 | Celtic (assistant) | ||
| 2009–2010 | Celtic B | ||
| 2010–2014 | Celtic | ||
| 2014–2016 | Bolton Wanderers | ||
| 2016–2019 | Hibernian | ||
| 2019–2021 | Celtic | ||
| 2022 | Omonia | ||
| 2024 | Rapid București | ||
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Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a football manager and former player from Northern Ireland. He was most recently the head coach for Liga I club Rapid București.
As a player, he played for English clubs like Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra, and Leicester City. In 2000, Lennon joined Celtic, where he played over 200 games and became team captain in 2005. Before he stopped playing, he also played for Nottingham Forest and Wycombe Wanderers. Lennon also played 40 games for the Northern Ireland national team, scoring two goals.
Lennon became the manager of his old club, Celtic, in March 2010. He first took over as a temporary manager after Tony Mowbray left. Lennon had a lot of success managing Celtic. He won three Scottish league titles and two Scottish Cups. He also helped the team reach the group stage of the Champions League twice. He left Celtic in May 2014. After a difficult time managing Bolton Wanderers in England, Lennon returned to Scottish football in 2016 to manage Hibernian. He helped them get promoted back to the Scottish Premiership in his first year.
Lennon went back to Celtic in February 2019 as a temporary manager again. He led them to win the league and Scottish Cup that season. His contract was made permanent, and he guided Celtic to another Scottish league title in 2019–20. He also helped the team win a fourth straight domestic treble, which means they won the league, the League Cup, and the Scottish Cup in the same season. Lennon left Celtic in February 2021 after the team fell behind Rangers in the league. A year later, he became the manager of Cypriot club Omonia in March 2022. He led them to win the Cypriot Cup, their first since 2012. He was later let go in October 2022 because of poor results in the league.
Contents
Early Life and Start in Football
Lennon was born in Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. He went to St Michael's Grammar School there. When he was young, he played gaelic football for his school. He also played for the Armagh minor team. Lennon grew up supporting Celtic and played football for his local youth team, Lurgan Celtic.
Neil Lennon's Playing Career
Starting Out in Football
Lennon joined Glenavon after playing in the final of the Milk Cup. He scored a goal in his very first game in the Irish League. In 1987, he joined Manchester City as a young player in training. He played one game for their main team on 30 April 1988 against Birmingham City.
In August 1990, he moved to Crewe Alexandra for free. Lennon played his first game for Crewe on 18 September 1990. He missed the 1991–92 season because of a back injury. But he soon became a key player for the team. His good performances led to him playing for Northern Ireland in 1994. He was the first Crewe Alexandra player in 60 years to play for his country. In five and a half years at Crewe, Lennon played 187 games and scored 18 goals.
Playing for Leicester City
In February 1996, Lennon joined Leicester City for £750,000. In May 1996, Lennon helped Leicester City beat Crystal Palace 2–1 at Wembley. This win helped Leicester get promoted to the Premier League. On 16 April 1997, Lennon won his first big medal when Leicester beat Middlesbrough 1–0 in the League Cup Final. He played in two more League Cup Finals for Leicester. They lost 1–0 to Tottenham Hotspur in March 1999. But they won 2–1 against Tranmere Rovers in February 2000.
In 1998, during a game against Newcastle United, there was an incident between Lennon and Alan Shearer. Television showed Shearer appearing to kick Lennon. The referee did not take any action. Shearer later apologized, saying it was not on purpose. Lennon even spoke up for Shearer at the hearing, and Shearer was cleared of any charges.
Becoming a Celtic Legend
After Martin O'Neill became the new manager of Celtic in June 2000, he tried hard to sign Lennon. After many talks with Leicester, Lennon joined Celtic on 6 December for £5.75 million. He was joining the club he had supported since he was a boy. That season, Lennon won three medals as Celtic won a domestic treble. They won the Scottish Premier League, Scottish Cup, and Scottish League Cup.
Over the next four seasons at Celtic, Lennon won two more league titles and two more Scottish Cups. He was also a very important part of the Celtic team that reached the UEFA Cup Final in 2003. They lost 3–2 to Porto after extra time.
When Gordon Strachan took over as manager in 2005, he made Lennon the new club captain. In January 2006, Lennon was rumored to return to Leicester as a player-manager. He said he was honored but wanted to lead Celtic to the Scottish Premier League title.
On 23 June 2006, Celtic announced he had signed a new one-year contract. Sunderland manager Roy Keane tried to sign Lennon in August 2006, but Celtic said no. On 25 April 2007, Lennon said he would be leaving Celtic. In his last game for the club on 26 May 2007, he was captain as the team won the Scottish Cup Final against Dunfermline Athletic. Celtic won 1–0, winning both the League and Cup.
Later Years as a Player
Lennon joined League One club Nottingham Forest on 12 June 2007. He signed a one-year contract. He made his debut as captain in a 0–0 draw against AFC Bournemouth. He missed some training in November 2007 for family reasons and lost his place in the team.
Lennon then joined Wycombe Wanderers in League Two on 31 January 2008. The team was managed by his former Celtic teammate Paul Lambert. He left on 3 April to take a coaching job with Celtic.
Playing for Northern Ireland
Lennon played his first international game for Northern Ireland on 11 June 1994. He came on as a substitute in a friendly game against Mexico in Miami. He had to wait almost a year for his next game, which was against Chile. Lennon played his first competitive game three months later on 3 September 1995. This was a European Championship qualifier against Portugal. After this, Lennon became a regular player for Northern Ireland. However, the team did not manage to qualify for any major tournaments.
Lennon decided to stop playing for Northern Ireland in August 2002. This was due to serious concerns for his safety before a match against Cyprus.
Lennon played 40 games for Northern Ireland and scored two goals. He was also the captain of the team several times.
International Stats
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 1994 | 1 | 0 |
| 1995 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 5 | 1 | |
| 1997 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 6 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2001 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2002 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 40 | 2 | |
International Goals
Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 October 1996 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Armenia |
1–0 | 1–1 | 1998 World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 18 October 1998 | Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland |  Moldova |
2–2 | 2–2 | Euro 2000 qualification |
Neil Lennon as a Manager
Lennon was considered for the manager's job at Hibernian after John Collins left. But the job went to Mixu Paatelainen. Lennon's first coaching role was as a first-team coach with Celtic in 2008. When Tony Mowbray became Celtic manager, Lennon took charge of the Celtic reserve team.
His reserve team played many friendly games against other clubs. They played teams like Cork City, Drogheda United, and Shamrock Rovers in Ireland. They also played against English teams such as Blackburn Rovers, Everton, and Chelsea.
Coaching at Celtic (First Time)
After Mowbray left Celtic on 25 March 2010, Lennon became the temporary manager for the rest of the 2009–10 season. He chose his former teammate Johan Mjällby as his assistant. Celtic won all their remaining league games under Lennon. This included wins against Kilmarnock, Hibernian, and Rangers. However, they lost 2–0 to First Division team Ross County in the Scottish Cup semi-final. After that loss, Lennon said the players needed more "hunger and desire." He also said he would recommend getting rid of many players.
Lennon became the full-time manager of Celtic on 9 June 2010. He kept Mjällby as his assistant. He also brought in former Celtic teammate Alan Thompson and former Leicester City teammate Garry Parker as coaches.
He made big changes to the Celtic team for the 2010–11 season. He sold Aiden McGeady for a Scottish record of £9.5 million. Captain Stephen McManus and goalkeeper Artur Boruc also left. 13 other players left the club too. This gave Lennon money to rebuild the team. Lennon then signed several young, talented, and less known players from smaller leagues. Striker Gary Hooper came from England. Israeli player Beram Kayal and Honduran left-back Emilio Izaguirre also joined. Lennon also signed experienced players for free. Charlie Mulgrew, Joe Ledley, and Daniel Majstorović all became first-team players. He also signed five other players, including Fraser Forster on loan from Newcastle. Forster became the main goalkeeper and helped set a new record for most clean sheets in the SPL.
On 28 July, in his first competitive game as full-time manager, Celtic lost 3–0 away to Braga in the UEFA Champions League. Celtic won their first eight league games under Lennon. However, there was a controversy in their 2–1 win against Dundee United on 17 October 2010. The referee first gave Celtic a penalty kick, but then changed his mind. Lennon accepted the referee's explanation, calling it "another honest mistake." But it was later found that the referee had not been truthful, and he resigned. More referee issues happened the next week when Celtic lost 3–1 at home against Rangers. Lennon felt the referee made "a couple of decisions wrong." In November, Lennon led Celtic to a huge 9–0 win over Aberdeen. This was a record win in the Scottish Premier League. Lennon later received touchline bans for his reactions during games.
Lennon led Celtic to the League Cup final in March 2011, but they lost 2–1 to Rangers after extra time. They were in the race for the SPL title until the very last day. They won 4–0 at home to Motherwell, but finished one point behind Rangers. He won his first trophy as a manager when Celtic beat Motherwell 3–0 in the Scottish Cup Final a week later.
After a slow start to the 2011–12 season, Lennon won the SPL Manager of the Month award for November 2011. The club went on to win the 2011–12 Scottish Premier League title. Lennon was named SFWA Manager of the Year. Lennon then guided Celtic through two qualifying rounds to reach the group stage of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League. Celtic famously beat Barcelona one day after the club's 125th birthday. Celtic made it out of their group to the knockout stages of the Champions League. They were beaten by Juventus in the last 16 round, but Celtic and Lennon were praised for their Champions League journey. On 21 April 2013, Celtic won the Premier League title again. Lennon ended the season by leading Celtic to win both the League and Cup. They beat Hibernian 3–0 in the Scottish Cup Final.
Celtic qualified for the Champions League group stages again the next season. However, they had a tough campaign, winning only once against Ajax. They lost 6–1 away against Barcelona in their last group match. They did not do well in the domestic cup competitions either. They lost to Morton in the League Cup and to Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup. The league season was much better. They were undefeated until February and lost only twice all season. They scored 102 goals on their way to their third straight league title. On 22 May 2014, Lennon announced he was leaving Celtic after four years as manager.
Managing Bolton Wanderers
Lennon was announced as the new manager of Bolton Wanderers on 12 October 2014. He signed a four-year contract. He won his first game in charge 1–0 against Birmingham City. Lennon's first three months saw Bolton move up ten places from the bottom of the league. They had an eight-game unbeaten run and four clean sheets in a row. Bolton reached the fourth round of the FA Cup. They played Liverpool and forced a replay, but lost 2–1 after a late goal. After this, things became difficult for Lennon. Bolton won only one of their last 11 games that season. However, Bolton managed to avoid being relegated, finishing 18th in the league.
Bolton struggled at the start of the next season. By October 2015, they were at the bottom of the table. They had only one win in their first eleven league games. Lennon still believed he could improve Bolton's results. By the end of November 2015, Bolton had not won in twelve games and remained at the bottom. The club also announced that players had not been paid due to money problems. Bolton continued to struggle. With the club at the bottom of the table, Lennon left by "mutual consent" on 15 March 2016.
Leading Hibernian
Lennon became the head coach of Scottish Championship club Hibernian in June 2016. He led the "Hibees" to win the Scottish Championship title in his first season. This meant they were promoted back to the Scottish Premiership after three years. In September 2017, Lennon and Hibs agreed to extend his contract until the end of the 2019–20 season. Hibs finished fourth in the 2017–18 Scottish Premiership and qualified for the Europa League.
On 25 January 2019, Lennon was suspended by Hibernian after an issue with other club employees. On 30 January, it was announced that he and assistant coach Garry Parker had left the club by mutual agreement. The club said that "neither Neil nor Garry has been guilty of any misconduct or wrongdoing."
Return to Celtic
On 26 February 2019, Lennon was appointed manager of Celtic for a second time. He took over until the end of the season after Brendan Rodgers left. He helped the club achieve a special "treble treble," winning three domestic trebles in a row. Because of this success, Lennon was made the permanent manager for a second time. The 2019–20 season was also very successful, even with football being stopped because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The season was later ended early, and Celtic were given the title. They were thirteen points clear at the time. This equaled the national record of nine league championships in a row. They also won the League and Scottish cups again. This gave the club their fourth straight domestic treble.
After a good start to the 2020–21 season, Lennon faced a lot of criticism. The club had a poor run of results, starting with a 2–0 loss to Rangers on 17 October. They also failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage. They were knocked out of the Europa League and the League Cup. This ended their chance of a fifth straight treble. Fans began to protest outside Celtic Park. The club's board supported Lennon in December. However, after another loss to Rangers on 2 January, calls for Lennon to leave grew stronger. Hopes of winning a historic tenth title faded.
Lennon was also criticized for taking the team on a training trip to Dubai in January. Two players caught COVID-19 there. This meant 13 players and three coaches, including Lennon, had to quarantine for 10 days. They missed league games against Hibernian and Livingston, both of which were draws. More fan protests happened after a home defeat by St Mirren. Lennon left the club on 24 February 2021 after a 1–0 defeat to Ross County. Celtic was then 18 points behind Rangers in the title race.
Managing Omonia in Cyprus
On 8 March 2022, Lennon became the head coach of Cypriot First Division team Omonia. He signed a two-and-a-half-year deal. Less than three months later, on 25 May, Lennon led the club to win their first trophy under him. They beat Ethnikos Achna on penalties to win the Cypriot Cup. This was Omonia's first Cypriot Cup since 2012.
For the 2022–23 season, Lennon brought in players he had managed before. These included Adam Matthews and Gary Hooper from Celtic, and Brandon Barker from Hibernian. After losing in the Cypriot Super Cup, Lennon's Omonia team surprised Belgian side Gent. They won 4–0 over two games to qualify for the UEFA Europa League group stage. Despite good performances against Manchester United and Real Sociedad in the group stage, Lennon was sacked on 18 October 2022. This was because of disappointing results in the domestic league.
Short Spell at Rapid București
On 20 May 2024, Lennon was officially announced as the manager of Liga I club Rapid București in Romania. He signed a two-year deal. However, on 20 August 2024, Lennon was sacked after only three months in charge. During this time, the team signed twelve new players but had no wins in six matches.
About Neil Lennon's Life
Lennon has shared that he has experienced depression since 2000. He supports his hometown team, Lurgan Celtic.
Managerial Statistics
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Celtic |  |
25 March 2010 | 22 May 2014 | 227 | 159 | 29 | 39 | 70.04 |
| Bolton Wanderers |  |
12 October 2014 | 15 March 2016 | 79 | 18 | 26 | 35 | 22.78 |
| Hibernian | |
8 June 2016 | 30 January 2019 | 123 | 59 | 40 | 24 | 47.97 |
| Celtic | |
26 February 2019 | 24 February 2021 | 110 | 77 | 17 | 16 | 70.00 |
| Omonia |  |
8 March 2022 | 18 October 2022 | 29 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 37.93 |
| Rapid București |  |
20 May 2024 | 20 August 2024 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Total | 574 | 324 | 125 | 125 | 56.45 | |||
Honours and Achievements
Player
Crewe Alexandra
- Football League Third Division promotion: 1993–94
Leicester City
- Football League Cup: 1996–97, 1999–2000; runner-up: 1998–99
- Football League First Division play-offs: 1996
Celtic
- Scottish Premier League: 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07
- Scottish Cup: 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07
- Scottish League Cup: 2000–01, 2005–06
- UEFA Cup runner-up: 2002–03
Nottingham Forest
- Football League One promotion: 2007–08
Individual
- PFA Team of the Year: 1993–94 Third Division, 1994–95 Second Division, 1995–96 Second Division
Manager
Celtic
- Scottish Premier League / Premiership: 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2018–19, 2019–20
- Scottish Cup: 2010–11, 2012–13, 2018–19, 2019–20
- Scottish League Cup: 2019–20
Hibernian
- Scottish Championship: 2016–17
Omonia
- Cypriot Cup: 2021–22
Awards
- Player
- PFA Team of the Year (Third Division): 1993–94
- PFA Team of the Year (Second Division) (2): 1994–95, 1995–96
- Northern Ireland International Personality of the Year (1): 2001
- Celtic FC Player of the Year (2): 2003–04, 2005–06
- Manager
- SPL Manager of the Year: 2011–12
- SFWA Manager of the Year (3): 2011–12, 2012–13, 2019–20
- Sunday Mail Sports Awards Editors' Choice: 2012
- SPL Player of the Month (3): March 2001, March 2004, April 2007
- SPL Manager of the Month (8): September 2010, January 2011, April 2011, November 2011, December 2011, February 2012, April 2012, December 2012
- SPFL Premiership Manager of the Month (3): December 2013, January 2014, October 2017
- SPFL Championship Manager of the Month (2): August 2016, January 2017
See also
In Spanish: Neil Lennon para niños
