NEIL LENNON REMAINS unsure if he will still be in charge of Celtic next season, but he is expecting to fill a coaching role somewhere in 2019-20.
The Northern Irishman, who previously enjoyed four trophy-laden years in charge of the Hoops, returned to Parkhead in February when Brendan Rodgers left for Leicester.
He was handed a short-term deal through to the end of the season and charged with the task of completing a domestic treble.
Celtic have wrapped up an eighth successive Scottish Premiership title and can round their season off in style on Saturday when they take on Hearts in the Scottish Cup final.
That outing could prove to be Lennon’s last at the helm, amid links to the likes of Jose Mourinho and David Moyes, with the 47-year-old unable to speculate on his future beyond admitting that he intends to be working next season.
Lennon told BBC Sport: “I want to manage.
“Take a holiday first and then have a look at things and see what’s there.
“I’ve really enjoyed the last three years being back in Scotland. I’ve had some great success both at Hibs and Celtic.
“I’ve enjoyed it immensely and it’s been really good for me so if it’s not to be Celtic then I’m hoping for a new challenge somewhere else.
“I would love it [if I stayed on at Celtic]. It’s a privileged position, I’ve done it before.”
Lennon claims the thinking of the Celtic board will not be swayed by the outcome of a cup final clash with Hearts, adding: “I’ve been told that already by the hierarchy and I’ve no reason not to believe that.”
A man who spent seven years with the Bhoys as a player believes he could not have done any more to put himself in contention for a full-time appointment.
He has faced criticism at times, but he considers that to have been unfair as he was working with somebody else’s team.
“It’s not my side, it’s Brendan’s and it’s not my style of play, it’s Brendan’s,” Lennon said.
“People saying, ‘well the performances aren’t the same’, well they are.
“If I had gone in there and changed things and it hadn’t worked, then I would’ve been making a huge mistake.
“It was important to get the players over the line, win the league. The training, everything, we kept the same. You’ve got to put the players first. It’s an important piece of the club’s history that they could achieve here.
“Going forward, the style of play I think can be a little bit different. Teams are starting to work out the way we play. We need to be more flexible in our style.
“I was a bit shocked that Brendan had left, just the timing of it, but it’s understandable because it’s a professional decision at the end of the day and he’s back in the Premier League with a great club that I know of.
“When the inevitable happened, then I was ready to ask the question of myself and thought, ‘yeah, I’m going to do this, I want to do this’.”
Gavan Casey is joined by Ryan Bailey and Andy Dunne to look ahead to Saturday’s Pro14 final, look at whether Joey Carbery’s move has paid off and Jack Conan talks about how his body is holding up.:
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Crazy amount of rumours doing the rounds – big Monday announcement could be en route. Whilst it’s encouraging to see so many managers names in the hat, there are a couple that really shouldn’t be in the running – Lennon included. Fresh ideas are required for both the short and long term. HH
@Eoin Cashman: it would be harsh but I probably agree , who would you recommend, out of all tipped including Rafa who definitely should be any team looking for a manager first choice on a small budget ,stay away from Marcelo please ,, prob both most likely and out of contract would be moyes hughton , think hughton should get the nod here but probably won’t
A legend, but the board need to show ambition
@Kris Hetherington: I agree but very important they live very smartly within their means. For me that’s league success and a decent run in Europe, keep wages low and sign talent to be sold on for decent profit. Unrealistic ambitions resulted in the death of rangers. They should market themselves for any young talent that they are a gateway to the premier league.
You’d imagine that if they were going to give it to Lennon then they would have given it to him already . Is he just on the Subs bench in case of other possibilities falling through .
@Pl O’neill: Straight after securing the league at Pittodie would have been the perfect time for such an announcement. You’d hope the board have their ducks in a row so as to give the incoming manager a decebt chance of getting some results in the CL qualifiers.
Appointing Moyes doesn’t sound too ambitious .
Good at Everton ( not all the time ) but plenty of mixed stuff elsewhere
And a huge failure at the biggest club he was at !
His behaviour after the game last Sunday suggested to me Lennon does not expect to get it. I think it will be moyes. No way I can see an announcement on Monday. That’s fake news
@Bill Clay: GCC traffic notice that was flagged as fake yesterday is, apparently, very real. If it ends up being Rafa I’ll never utter a bad word about Mike Ashley again.
Pessimist says Moyes, optimist says Rafa or AVB.
@Eoin Cashman: Rafa would be unreal. I think it will be moyes. If it is moyes I think it’s hard on Lennon. Moyes to be announcened on Monday so!!!
@Bill Clay: Appointing Moyes with Lennon already in place seems nonsensical. Seems to be a lot of player transfer rumours too, given the supposed managerial change. Here’s hoping for a speedy appointment we can be happy with!
@Eoin Cashman: very good point , both very similar managers , Scottish , aggressive and hotheaded safe tactics,, think hughton would be very good or bilic but think he’s going to manage some middle eastern teams reason why biblical would be good Eastern Europe connections , could find a lot of good players to suit the league/wage . But Benitez if the board are ambitious should be number 1