I enjoyed battles with Old Firm rival and respect the job he did: Gerrard
HE may have played a huge part in his ousting but Steven Gerrard would love to share a pint with Neil Lennon.
The Rangers boss has guided his side to the brink of the Scottish Premiership crown with Celtic 18 points in arrears as Lennon called it quits yesterday.
But Gerrard would like to meet up with Lennon some day to commiserate with one of the few men who truly knows what life in the Glasgow goldfish bowl is like.
“Without a doubt, I can certainly understand the pressure and the sacrifice you have to make to be in this position as an Old Firm manager,” he said.
“Obviously I can only talk from the blue side. I’ve been in the job for nearly three years and it’s a very demanding environment.
“There is a lot of pressure involved and it’s part of the job you sign up for. You understand that if things are going well, it’s fantastic and you get a lot of praise for that. You have an opportunity to be a success.
“But on the other side, when things are not going well, it can be a lonely place. Of course it can. I’ve experienced that in my short stint here.
“So I totally appreciate the job that Neil has done for Celtic. I take no personal satisfaction in seeing a rival manager lose his job, or any manager, because I understand what you have to put into this job on a daily basis.
“I know Neil as a guy, I know his family from holidaying in the same areas, and he’s a good guy.
“He has been a big supporter of my charity over the years.
“Obviously we have to put that aside when you are big rivals and I have enjoyed the battles and going toe-to-toe with Neil on the sideline. He’s a good coach, a good manager.
“I’m sure once the dust settles in time, we can share a pint together again. But the reality in Scotland is that if the pressure’s not on you, it’s on your rival. If the pressure’s on you, it means that your rival is doing well.
“That’s the game that me and Neil have both been in for the last couple of years. I wish him well in the future and we move forward here at Rangers.”
Rangers hero Ally Mccoist was not surprised that Lennon resigned as Celtic manager after seeing the Parkhead club endure “one disaster after another”.
Mccoist, who played for Rangers between 1983 and 1998 before a spell as manager between 2011 and 2014, said: “The first thing I say is, hopefully he can get some sanity back in his life and go and enjoy himself and relax with his family for a period.
“That’s the one thing, looking at Neil, that he needs and wants .
“But in terms of the decision itself, I’m not overly surprised at all. I think the way the season has gone for Celtic this year has effectively been one disaster after another, and there are a lot of people responsible for that.
“Neil, being the manager, is obviously one of them but the people above him as well, and indeed the players have to shoulder a lot of the responsibility.”
Meanwhile, former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes John Kennedy has all the attributes to “stabilise” the Parkhead club.
Kennedy was a first-team coach under Rodgers and the Leicester boss was fulsome in his praise of the ex-celtic defender.
He said: “First in terms of Neil, I am obviously saddened when any manager loses his job or moves on, in particular someone I can call a friend, so it’s a tough day for him.
“But when it all settles down, Neil is an incredible legend of the club, he has given so much service to the club, won so many titles and, like I say, his legacy there will be intact forever.
“When myself and my staff went in there, John was someone I didn’t know but I heard good things about him. He knows the temperature of Celtic which is important. He has been through all the levels as a scout, a coach, progressed through to the first team and in my time there he was a brilliant first-team coach.
“He is a great pair of hands to go in there and just stabilise the players, the club.”
GLENTORAN assistant manager Paul Millar believes “a lot of people were gloating” when The Oval outfit were struggling earlier in the season.
Following Tuesday’s dramatic 1-0 away win over Linfield, the Glens have closed the gap to 12 points behind the league leaders and play the Blues again next week at The Oval.
The east Belfast outfit are in sixth, but with three successive victories and two matches in hand on most of the sides above them, there is hope for their fans that they could stage a stunning title run.
It’s a far cry from late last year when Mick Mcdermott’s team were consistently dropping points and in the bottom half of the Danske Bank Premiership.
Millar said: “As far as everyone was concerned, Glentoran were out of this race a couple of months ago. A lot of people were gloating over it, and we are still not in it but we are a lot closer now than we were. It could be a lot closer next week.
“I have said from day one this isn’t about who is top of the league after five or 10 matches. It’s the season. We brought in a lot of players and it took a while for them to gel and now they are doing rightly.”
Deadline day signing from Cliftonville, Conor Mcmenamin, was the injury-time match-winner at Windsor Park.
He is part of the largest squad in Irish League football, which Millar insists is needed to be successful. Millar also addressed the much-debated, big-money swap deal involving Mcmenamin that took popular Northern Ireland Under-21 striker Paul O’neill to Cliftonville.
Millar, who has played for both Big Two clubs, continued: “For years, Linfield had a great squad.
“Glentoran, I always thought, had the best team but Linfield had the best squad where they could carry an injury here or there. We have worked hard recruiting players.
“I think Jay Donnelly is probably the best centre forward in the league and Robbie Mcdaid’s average for Glentoran is a goal every two games, which is a great record.
“We signed Rhys Marshall, how we got him I don’t know, and then we signed Conor McMenamin and, yes, we were disappointed Paul O’neill left.
“Paul had to go as part of the deal. He wanted regular football and we couldn’t give him it. Larne offered money for Conor but (Cliftonville chairman) Gerard Lawlor and (manager) Paddy (Mclaughlin) wanted a player.”
Another major talking point is whether the full 38 league games will be played this season, with the continual postponement of matches leading many to believe the campaign will only last for 33 ties.
Last month, Mcdermott called for the season to be voided. Now, he is demanding the 38-game season is completed. Millar’s verdict?
“I think we must be the only league in the world talking about the league not finishing,” he said in Tuesday’s post-match press conference.
“We have a big squad for a reason and, from my point of view, not the club, if I hear again this is bad for the health and safety of players, all these games, I’m saying you don’t have to play them in every game.
“My mate’s manager of Middlesbrough (Neil Warnock) and they are playing every week all round the country. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang and so is every other club, whether that is in the Premier League, League One or League Two.”
On the game here as a whole, Millar added: “This league is good. As a football person being involved since I was 16, this year is as tough as it’s ever been. Money coming into Glentoran and Larne has upped everybody’s game.
“I’d love crowds to be back because for Irish League football, I think the league would have broken all records in terms of crowds.”