Kris Boyd has suggested that Neil Lennon has a good chance of landing the Celtic manager’s job on a permanent basis once his interim spell in charge comes to an end in the summer.
The 47-year-old took charge of the Hoops in February after Brendan Rodgers’ shock decision to quit Scotland and return to the Premier League to take charge at Leicester.
Since Rodgers’ departure there has been a lot of speculation about who will be Celtic’s next permanent boss, with some big names being linked to Parkhead like former Chelsea and Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho [Gianluca Di Marzio].
However Boyd cannot see the big names of football management wanting to take a job in Scotland, so that will increase Lennon’s chances of staying in charge at Celtic Park past the end of this season.
“Neil Lennon was brought in to do the job of seeing them over the line in the league and obviously to get them to the Scottish Cup final and he’s done that,” said Boyd on Sky Sports Main Even on Sunday after Celtic’s loss at Ibrox [02:20pm].
“The worst thing that Neil’s got is the names that have been linked to the Celtic job. Jose Mourinho, Rafa Benitez, Andre Vilas-Boas, guys like that.
“I can’t see them coming to Glasgow so that would give him hope of keeping the job.”
Boyd also revealed that he believes Lennon should be the man to take charge of the Bhoys for next season.
“For me I think he deserves it because as I said, he was brought in to get Celtic over the line to get to the cup final and you would fancy them to win that. A personal double for him and a treble for Celtic, so he’s done his job,” the ex-Rangers striker added.
OPINION
Whether or not Lennon gets the Celtic job should boil down to whether or not he wins the Scottish Cup final against Hearts later this month. If the 47-year-old suffers an unexpected defeat at Hampden Park then there is no way that he should get the job after missing out on winning three domestic trebles in a row. However if he does win it then there are not many reasons to suggest he should not get the job. Lennon’s European record is better than Rodgers’ was, he knows the club better than a lot of people in the sport, he loves the club and the players clearly looked up to him and respect him. Sunday’s loss at Rangers should not have too much of an impact on whether or not Lennon gets the permanent role but the style of play that he has employed should be taken into account. It’s not pretty to watch and Celtic cannot be expected to thrash everyone who stands in their way. They can however improve a defence that has looked so weak up Rodgers’ rule.