Neil Francis Lennon (born 25 June 1971) is a Northern Irish football coach and former player who is the manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic. During his playing career he represented English clubs Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra and Leicester City.
Lennon moved to Scottish club Celtic in 2000, where he made over 200 appearances and was appointed captain in 2005. Before retiring as a player, he returned to England and played for Nottingham Forest and Wycombe Wanderers. Lennon made 40 appearances for Northern Ireland in nine years, scoring two goals. Lennon was appointed manager of Celtic in March 2010, initially in a caretaker capacity after the departure of Tony Mowbray.
Neil Lennon names the Celtic problem Champions League rivals don't have but Brendan Rodgers CAN 'burst' the mould
dailyrecord.co.ukNeil Lennon insists Celtic WILL break through their Champions League ceiling as Brendan Rodgers stands next in line to take on that mission.The Hoops begin their Group E campaign next Tuesday away at Dutch champions Feyenoord and their former boss knows the pot four side are in for a tough section alongside Lazio and Atletico Madrid too.
No Scottish side has managed to reach the Champions League last 16 since Lennon's first stint in charge, when he guided the current Premiership champions out of a group involving Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow before elimination to Juventus back in terms 2012/13.European regrets still linger for the former midfielder from his second stint in charge - namely the Europa League round of 32 exit to FC Copenhagen - but he insists that there's an additional challenge for Celtic that others across the continent don't have.
The constant need for victory in Glasgow is what Lennon thinks contributes to European slips, with others able to take their foot off the domestic pedal.
He told the Scottish Sun: “There isn’t a glass ceiling for Celtic when it comes to Europe. I remember saying the same thing in my time as manager when we lost to Juventus in the knockout round. “The club will burst past that at some point and I admit I had some disappointments when I was in charge.
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