Davie Hay believes that Neil Lennon will be made Celtic’s permanent manager at the end of the season.
Brendan Rodgers quit the Hoops to join Leicester last month and the board quickly replaced him by re-hiring Lennon as their caretaker manager to see out the rest of the campaign.
And if the ex-Hibernian boss manages to seal a third domestic treble in a row, then Hay reckons he is the frontrunner to earn the job permanently.
“I strongly suspect that it will be Neil Lennon who is leading Celtic into those [Champions League] qualifiers,” said Hay on the Glasgow Evening Times website.
“You would have to think that if he is successful in getting the treble over the line that it is pretty difficult to dislodge him from the position.
“And I think that from his perspective he is doing the right thing in planning and preparing as though he is in the job for the long term.
“The fact that he sat down and discussed what areas need to be strengthened and began the job of identifying players to come in is something that is in the best interests of the club.
“Whether it is Neil or someone else who takes it on, the fact is that there is very little time to work in order to have things clarified and ready to go for what is a part of the season that lays down the foundations for the rest of the campaign.”
OPINION
Lennon has started well on his return to Celtic Park. He has maintained an eight point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table despite some tricky fixtures and has reached the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup where he side will play against Aberdeen. Lennon is also a massive favourite among the Hoops fans, and his impressive start means that the majority of supporters will surely want him to be handed the job on a permanent basis. It surely depends on whether or not he seals the domestic treble though. If Celtic fail to win a third treble in a row then surely Celtic will look at hiring another manager to replace Lennon. If he does win it, then you can expect him to be hired permanently. At the moment, you have to say that Celtic are huge favourites to win the league and the Scottish Cup, and that must mean that Lennon is the favourite for the job.