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SPL July 2010
Scottish Premier League News July 2010: Neil Lennon Confirmed As New Celtic Manager
Ali Hannah
Rangers
Rangers manager Walter Smith had to admit defeat in the fight to keep Kris Boyd at Ibrox after the striker signed for former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan this month.
Smith has insisted he did everything in his power to persuade the striker to remain with Rangers, but to no avail.
Boyd, who is the SPL's all time top goal scorer, called time on his Rangers career at the end of the season, and is expected to link up with ex-Celtic striker Scott McDonald for Middlesbrough next term.
It has caused a few disgruntled remarks for the Ibrox support, but Smith has said that the club couldn't have battled any harder than they did to keep the prolific hitman at Ibrox.
Despite Smith's budget restrictions he insists Rangers were ready to make Boyd one of club's top earners.
Speaking about the Scotland international Boyd's departure south Smith said: "We did all we could to keep him.
"I think there were two things from his point of view-the money and a new challenge. We appreciate why he has decided to go and wish him well. I hope he does well at Middlesbrough.
"From our point of view we made him an offer that was as much as we could go to for any player that we were hoping to keep at the club or bring to the club.
Boyd turned down a lucrative £50,000 a week offer from Turkish outfit Kayserispor to sign for ‘Boro.
The striker revealed that if money had been his prime motive in moving he would be playing his football abroad in Turkey next season with Boro's offer reported to be half that of the Turks, but that he had his family to consider.
The striker said: "If I only had money on my mind I would have gone there but that's not what I'm about.
"I have a family to consider and taking everything into account Middlesbrough is the best option."
The 26 year-old goal ace added: "Rangers have been a big part of my life and it was a privilege to play for them, " he said.
"To score so many goals in front of the Rangers fans was an amazing feeling. They made me feel so special.
"I'm also leaving behind lots of friends at the club such as Lee McCulloch and Davie Weir and I thank them for their support.
"I also want to thank Walter and his staff for their help and encouragement over the yeas I hope Walter enjoys a successful season in his final year in charge."
Two other Turkish clubs Ankaragucu and Bursaspor had also expressed an interest in the star who has also been linked with moves to Wolves, Birmingham City and Newcastle United.
But as Boyd prepares to work for promotion to the Premiership under Strachan, Smith says Rangers will just have to adapt to life without the striker as the Ibrox club go in search of their third back-to-back SPL title.
"Anybody who scores that amount of goals will be missed but it means everyone else will have to work harder to make it up," he said.
"We are disappointed he has gone. But with the club's situation at the moment we have to accept that."
Celtic
Martin O'Neill spent the best part of a decade watching the devil and the angel at work on each of Neil Lennon's shoulders.
He saw the best and he tolerated the some of the worst.
But as Lennon took the Celtic job on a permanent basis this week and spoke of "bringing the thunder back" and sending his players "to war" every time they step onto the pitch, there was a strong element of O'Neill in his rhetoric.
His words came across not just as glib soundbites, but as an indication of the passion some of his pre-match team talks may hold, a passion that has been absent at the heart of the Celtic team for much of the last 18 months.
And while there have been those who have raised an eyebrow at the appointment of such an inexperienced manager to such a demanding post, O'Neill believes that Celtic have got the best candidate they could have as they attempt to steer themselves out of the lull they are currently in.
"He is an articulate man and he is very passionate about his football, but he is also intelligent with a good brain in there," said O'Neill. "He has always been a very good speaker.
"I never needed to hand Neil a captain's armband to know that he would go out and act like one anyway. He did not shy away from ever saying something and he could get his point across.
"When I saw the defeat to Ross County in the Scottish Cup last season I did feel for him because it was so early into his time in charge. I thought he handed it very well. More importantly than what he said was the fact that he got the right results after it and that is the real test.
"He is as capable as anyone of going into that job and turning things around. It doesn't matter who gets any managerial job - no-one comes with a guarantee. But to me Lennon has shown in the eight league games he had that he is ready for this."
While O'Neill as Celtic manager at times to lament Lennon's lifestyle, there were other occasions when his support for his then midfielder and the job he fulfilled on the park was obvious. For every "conversation" between then two that criticised the peroxide blonde locks, or the latest indiscretion, there was another, just like the one at Ibrox in November 2004 when O'Neill clamped the player to his shoulder and marched him to the Celtic support in order that he would get the acclaim he felt he deserved from his own fans.
His affection for the player, and his respect for the job he done on the park, was never far from the surface.
It was never going to be any great revelation that when Lennon headed into management he would cite O'Neill as something of a mentor, but it is an accolade that the Aston Villa manager is reluctant to accept.
And as Lennon follows in O'Neill's footsteps in the Celtic dugout, he has insisted that he expects the former Celtic player to stand firmly on his own two feet, regardless of what challenges may await for him on and off the pitch in Glasgow.
"If there is one thing you would say about Neil it is that he knows his own mind," he said. "I am certain that he will have picked up little bits from all the people he has worked with, and certainly not just myself.
"His formative years were spent working with Dario Grady whom I have fantastic respect for as a manager and who I am sure has some excellent ways about him on the coaching field.
"But I am sure that Neil will not be long in finding his own ways of doing things. He might adopt little things here and there that others have done but anyone who knows Neil will tell you that he is nothing if not his own man. He has vast experience as a player at the very top level and he doesn't need anyone to hold his hand.
"He won't be intimidated by anyone and he won't be easily put off his stride. I have absolute certainty that he will cope with what comes with being the manager of Celtic because he knows what it is all about.
"The Celtic job is a fantastic challenge for anyone and I don't see what reason why Neil will not make a success of it."
As Lennon was handed the role of permanent boss at Celtic this week, O'Neill could be forgiven a feeling akin to pride as a player he signed for both Leicester and then the Parkhead club stood on the same steps that he himself saluted the Celtic support from just over ten years earlier.
Yet, when it comes to offering advice, O'Neill was succinct.
"There is only one bit of advice that anyone can ever give you and that is to go out and try and win a few football matches. Really, that's all there is to it," joked the Irishman.
"But seriously, there will be things at the beginning of his managerial career that he will find very difficult - bit there will things that are difficult for your entire managerial career.
"Neil has had nine games in charge of Celtic and to me that is probably the equivalent of having been in charge of another club for a full season. He will have seen for himself what the different demands are that are on you and I am sure from the minute that he was handed the post, albeit that it was originally in the interim, he will have treated it that he was there for keeps.
"I really don't think it will overly concern him that he his experience as a manager is limited and nor should it. You could have 20 years experience and the pressures of being a Celtic manager could still take you aback.
"In actual fact, given that he has experienced all of that so recently as a player, he will be in a strong position to deal with all of that. He knows that is expected of him as Celtic manager and I don't envisage that he will fall short in any way whatsoever."
There are obvious parallels between O'Neill and Lennon as Celtic managers. While O'Neill took the job as his stock was rising and his reputation as an exciting young manager was fully forged, Lennon gets it as his first job in the game.
However, both men took over when the club had finished a season empty-handed, when Rangers appeared to be in the ascendancy and when there was a lifelessness, a lack of hope among the support.
"He is a good motivator for the simple reason that he is a winner," said O'Neill. "He wants to win and that is what he will imbue in his players - win at all cost."
It is fair to suggest that if Lennon should fancy picking the brain of his former manager that a phone call would suffice.
However, Lennon might expect a bit of a dig first.
"Apparently Neil was asked whether he would be phoning me for any advice just after we had been thoroughly cuffed 7-0 by Chelsea and he responded by saying that I should be phoning him. I'll be keeping that one in mind the next time I speak to him.
"I spoke to him when he got the job in the interim and I wished him all the best. Now that he is in there, I'll give him a buzz again but he doesn't need me or anyone else to tell him what to do because he already knows."
Whatever lies in wait, it promises to be intriguing.
Scotland
Craig Levein has been told by former Scotland captain Barry Ferguson that he does not want to step back into the national team.
The former Rangers midfielder has decided to call time in his international career after spending the last few months struggling over the decision on whether or not to return to playing for Scotland.
The former Scotland and Rangers captain contacted manager Levein to inform him of his decision over a late night phone call after deciding against making himself available for his country.
Ferguson - who was axed from the Scotland set-up in the aftermath of the Boozegate affair - was offered the opportunity to return to the international fold when Levein took over as manager from George Burley.
The pair met in Birmingham towards the end of last season as Levein attempted to lure him back to the national set-up but Ferguson has decided to put his family and club career first by making the heartbreaking call to officially retire from international football.
It's believed the player wants to spend as much time with his family as possible when there are breaks in Birmingham's English Premier League campaign and also feels it might be asking too much of him physically to continue playing international football.
The 32-year-old made 45 appearances for Scotland, scoring three goals, after making his debut at the age of 20 against Lithuania. He wore the armband on 28 appearances and lead Scotland to a remarkable double over France during the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
Ferguson is believed to have been impressed with what Levein had to say about his plans for the national team and was tempted to play a part in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign but was forced to let his head overrule his heart.
A source close to the player revealed: "Barry has now called time on his international career. He called Craig Levein and informed him of his decision as he didn't want this dragging into the start of a new season.
"He was desperate to play again for his country but after weighing everything up he knew it would have been the wrong decision.
"It was an extremely difficult decision for Barry to come to. But he has family commitments and responsibilities after moving to England and he is also at the stage of his career where he wants to stay as fit as possible and enjoy the remaining years of his career at club level.
"Barry would often turn up for international football carrying an injury but would play through the pain barrier and it would get harder and harder for him to do that while performing in the English Premier League.
"There were a number of factors involved in his decision but he has made what he feels is the right call and won't be making any U-turns. His Scotland career is now over and he wishes Craig and his players all the best for the future."
Levein offered Ferguson and Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor a new start after he took over as national team coach.
Both players were axed from the Scotland set-up after they were involved in a late night drinking session and made V-sign gestures to photographers from the bench. Walter Smith also fined and suspended them on their return to the Ibrox club.
But Levein was prepared to leave all that in the past in a bid to secure the services of the man who won Birmingham City's player's Player of the Year award last season but Ferguson has decided it would be best if he doesn't represent his country again.
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