NEIL LENNON, THE Hibernian manager, has revealed he battled with a bout of depression during the club’s Scottish Championship-winning season.
The former Celtic, Leicester City and Northern Ireland midfielder led Hibs to promotion back to the top-flight of Scottish football this season, but says the pressure of management took its toll.
Lennon had previously spoken about his mental health issues during his playing career but appearing on Sky Sports News HQ this morning, he urged others dealing with depression to seek help.
Advertisement
“The job is difficult enough when you’re feeling okay,” the 45-year-old said.
“But when you suffer from a bout of depression everything is magnified. You feel ten times worse about things.
“I did have an episode of it this season for about four or five weeks and the club were great about it.
“They were really supportive, as were my back-room staff as well. I got through it okay and came out the other side. When you come out the other side it’s a great feeling.
“There was a lot of people there for me, the LMA (League Managers Association) included. They were a great source of help. What you do is put a brave face on publicly – but inside you are feeling it.
“I totally understand why people don’t want to talk about it but the more you talk about it to professional people the easier it becomes to deal with.”
After a two-year spell with Bolton Wanderers, Lennon took over the Easter Road job last summer and instantly guided Hibs back to the Scottish Premier League after a three-year absence.
If you need to talk, contact:
Pieta House 1800 247 247 or email mary@pieta.ie (suicide, self-harm)
Samaritans 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
Aware 1800 80 48 48 (depression, anxiety)
Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833 634 (for ages 13 to 19)
Childline 1800 66 66 66 (for under 18s)
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
Neil Lennon reveals battle with depression during Hibs' title-winning season
NEIL LENNON, THE Hibernian manager, has revealed he battled with a bout of depression during the club’s Scottish Championship-winning season.
The former Celtic, Leicester City and Northern Ireland midfielder led Hibs to promotion back to the top-flight of Scottish football this season, but says the pressure of management took its toll.
Lennon had previously spoken about his mental health issues during his playing career but appearing on Sky Sports News HQ this morning, he urged others dealing with depression to seek help.
“The job is difficult enough when you’re feeling okay,” the 45-year-old said.
“But when you suffer from a bout of depression everything is magnified. You feel ten times worse about things.
“They were really supportive, as were my back-room staff as well. I got through it okay and came out the other side. When you come out the other side it’s a great feeling.
“There was a lot of people there for me, the LMA (League Managers Association) included. They were a great source of help. What you do is put a brave face on publicly – but inside you are feeling it.
“I totally understand why people don’t want to talk about it but the more you talk about it to professional people the easier it becomes to deal with.”
After a two-year spell with Bolton Wanderers, Lennon took over the Easter Road job last summer and instantly guided Hibs back to the Scottish Premier League after a three-year absence.
If you need to talk, contact:
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
Chelsea’s Kante named Football Writers’ Player of the Year
Dundalk manager Kenny fumes at ‘unacceptable’ defeat to Shamrock Rovers
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
it's ok not to feel ok Mental Health Neil Lennon Hibernian