Scottish Premier League News May 2014: Neil Lennon Leaves Celtic
Lisa Dillon
Celtic
Neil Lennon has admitted the decision to leave Celtic was the toughest of his life - but he has insisted that he has no idea what his next career move may be.
The Northern Irishman left the Scottish champions after four years having steered the Glasgow club to three league titles and two Scottish cups, as well qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League in 2013.
Despite his successful tenure at the helm, the 42-year-old's time in Scotland was not without controversy. He was assaulted twice - once inside Tynecastle during a live televised match - and in another incident, two men were convicted of sending him parcel bombs. The off-field problems have resulted in his family employing 24-hour security around them and it is believes the pressure of this may well have contributed to his reasons for leaving.
It has also been suggested that Lennon privately felt that the playing budget for next season wasn't sufficient to get the team through the three qualifying rounds they will be required to negotiate in order to reach the Champions League group stages.
Lennon, who also played 214 times for the Hoops during a seven-year period said: "I gave it a lot of consideration. It's not a knee-jerk reaction.
"It's been going on for a while and it was the toughest decision of my life. But it's a good time to go. The club's in great health. Four years as manager of Celtic in an intense environment was fantastic and I never dreamt when taking over the job that I'd be in this position now."
Lennon has been linked with a number of jobs south of the border but insisted he had nothing in place as he left Glasgow.
Asked about his future plans, Lennon said: "I've no idea. A holiday, hopefully. I'm away with the club on Friday for the Champions League final and then I'll take the family away for a bit of a break.
Such was the suddenness of the news that Hoops skipper Scott Brown revealed there was no-one within the dressing room who had an inkling that Lennon was set to head out of the door.
"I was surprised," Brown said. "But we wish him all the best, he's been fantastic for the club. He helped me a lot, and made me the player I am. We're sad to see Neil go."
"He's a great manager and is going to be a hard act to follow. We've got to look forward to the Champions League qualifiers and, no matter who comes in, we've got to go again and try to win the league, and try to get into the Champions League again. It's a good job for whoever comes in."
Scotland manager Gordon Strachan, who was in charge of Celtic from 2005-2009 and hired Lennon as a coach during his tenure, said of the 42-year-old's departure: "We just have to respect his decision.
"Being an ex-manager you can understand decisions, I've been in the game that long.
"I'm sure I'll bump into Neil over the next couple of months and we'll have a chat. Until then, there's nothing much I can say. If Lenny wants a break from football, I'll give him it by not talking about him."
Meanwhile, Sir Trevor Brooking believes that Fraser Forster got himself into the England World Cup squad on the back of his impressive form against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.
The former West Ham and England star reckons the Hoops No.1 has had an outstanding two years in Europe's premier event which culminated in being named in Roy Hodgson's final 23-man squad for Brazil.
The England director of football - who will step down from his role after the World Cup - singled out Forster's performance in Celtic's 2-1 Champions League win over
Barcelona at Parkhead in November 2012 as the night the Geordie came to English prominence.
Brooking said:"Celtic have been dominant in the Scottish league in the past few seasons and I know that Fraser broke the Scottish shut-out record this season for consecutive clean sheets.
"It was Forster's Champions League displays over the past couple of campaigns that brought him on to England's radar.
"I remember seeing Fraser keep Barcelona at bay at Celtic Park when Celtic beat the Spaniards and Roy Hodgson realised then that Forster was someone who was worth having a look at.
"That is why he was brought into the England set-up for them to analyse. He has played some of Europe's finest clubs in the Champions League group stages recently with Celtic and there is no sterner test of your credentials than that.
"Fraser has a lot of build and size and he is the kind of keeper who dominates his penalty box. He has come through the Champions League tests at club level with flying colours.
"Ruddy was Fraser's main competitor for the third England keeper's jersey. Ruddy has had a difficult season with Norwich being relegated. Fraser is in the England World Cup team on merit and fully deserves to be there.
"I am sure it is a huge boost not only to the player himself but for Scottish football and Celtic that Fraser is travelling to Brazil with England for the World Cup."
Rangers
According to Ibrox chief executive Graham Wallace, Rangers are "in a good place", despite continuing concerns over the League One champions' finances.
The Union of Fans group has urged supporters to withhold season ticket money in an attempt to hurt the current board. It had led to question marks over the ability of the club to meet the sales figures required for next season.
But Wallace said: "Fans should be confident and comfortable with the club's long-term stability."
Wallace insisted that the club's finances had improved since taking out an emergency £1.5m loan from two shareholders last season.
"Almost since the day I came to Rangers, we've been operating in an environment where there have been consistent questions about the financial stability of the club," he told the club website. We are now in our best position financially in my time at the club.
"I've repeatedly come out and said there's no threat of administration and we've built a very solid base now which we're moving forward from.
"The fans should take reassurance and comfort from that. We are moving in a way that allows us to grow and develop the business.
"The long-term financial stability of the business is well in hand and we are in a good place now."
After taking charge in November, Wallace carried out a review of the Glasgow club's finances, reporting in April.
He has admitted that mistakes were made under his predecessors following administration in 2012, but his report was not enough to stop angry protests from the Rangers fans.
The Union of Fans has been advising supporters to pay their renewal money into the Season Ticket Fund, an initiative backed by former Rangers captain Richard Gough and former Ibrox director Dave King.
"I've been in position now for a little over six months and, in that time, it has been extremely challenging," added Wallace.
"There have been so many legacy issues we have had to deal with and we spent a considerable period of time looking at the condition and the state of the business.
"We have done a tremendous amount of groundwork and we've addressed a significant number of issues.
"In the vast majority of areas, I think we are moving in the right direction and it is business as usual at the football club.
"We are now in our best position financially in my time at the club, so that's positive and we are placed very well for the start of the forthcoming Championship campaign."
Wallace added that the fan board was the result of Rangers' "Ready To Listen" fan engagement survey and a set of detailed focus groups.
Scotland
Scotland boss Gordon Strachan believes that the national side are ready to start fighting it out for a place at the next European finals.
Strachan ended this season's campaign in buoyant mood after a 2-2 draw with Nigeria, a result which extended Scotland's unbeaten run to six matches.
Next stop is Dortmund in September when the qualification campaign for France 2016 will begin in the toughest possible circumstances.
But with Scotland's self-belief and credibility greatly restored Strachan now insists his players are capable of pulling off a stunning result at the Westfalen Stadium.
He said: "We are all sensible enough to know Germany will qualify from this group.
"It'll be up to the rest of us to get on with it and fight it out between ourselves.
"But that said we will go into this game in confident mood and that shows you we have progressed.
"We now feel on our day we can beat anyone so long as we are organised, playing at our best and carrying a bit of luck.
"We also know we are capable of getting beaten by anyone. And that's a good thing because it reminds you we can't afford to relax or let sloppiness set in.
"But yes, if you told me a year ago after my first games in charge against Wales and Serbia we had to go to Germany next I would have said, 'Oh no, do we really?' But not now.
"We are more like a club side now and that's what I was looking to do when I took the job. When I started it didn't feel like that.
"We have put a lot of time into fostering that kind of feeling within the squad. It's not been easy but I really think we are getting there."
SFA chief Stewart Regan clearly believes Strachan has Scotland on course to mount a genuine bid to end the major tournament drought.
And he said: "It's very encouraging. We're all excited about Euro 2016 starting, without wishing to run away with ourselves or to overplay anything.
"But Gordon has surprised everybody by how quickly he managed to stabilise the ship and turn the side into one that's difficult to beat.
"He is ahead of time scale in terms of what we would have expected by now."