PLUCK OF THE IRISH
HIBS v MOTHERWELL Lenny: Bosses are hungry for glory, I’m not surprised we’re doing so well in SPFL
HIBS gaffer Neil Lennon admits he’s not surprised Northern Irish managers are taking the Scottish Premiership by storm.
The 46-year-old reckons the influx of his fellow countrymen into our game with Celtic’s Brendan Rodgers, Tommy Wright at St Johnstone and Motherwell’s Steve Robinson is reminiscent of the days when Scottish managers ruled British football.
And former Celtic star Lennon believes the Northern Irish managers are successful in Scotland because they all have a strong work ethic and the hunger to succeed.
Lennon said: “Northern Irish bosses are well schooled by the IFA who have great coaching courses.
“You have Michael O’Neill doing wonderful things with the national team so it’s all very positive. We are hungry and we want to do well.
“The Northern Ireland boys are a little bit of a throwback to the way the Scottish boys have been over the last 20 or 30 years. There is that real worth ethic about us.
“Jobs are at a premium sometimes in England. You see what happened at Crystal Palace with Frank de Boer. They are going back to Roy Hodgson.
“It’s hard to break into that unless you do really well somewhere else. Scottish clubs have picked good managers. Brendan has been a revelation at Celtic and so has Tommy at St Johnstone.
“I’ve had my bit and now Steve is cutting his teeth at Motherwell. There will be a few more coming through as well. There is a hunger there.
“When you are growing up in Northern Ireland both England and Scotland were the places you wanted to be.”
Lennon will try to get the better of Robinson today when Hibs take on a Well side in the hunt for their fourth league win at Easter Road. The Hibees boss is full of admiration for the job his former Northern Irish international team-mate has done during his short stint at Fir Park.
He said: “Steve was always a really nice footballer, intelligent and technical. The total opposite of what you expect from players coming from Northern Ireland.
“It doesn’t surprise me that he has gone into coaching. He did very well with the Northern Ireland Under-21s. “He has reinvigorated Motherwell. He is a conscientious boy and I’m pleased for him.”
Meanwhile Lennon admits it’s a big blow to lose defender Liam Fontaine, who is set to undergo ankle to repair ligament damage, for up to 12 weeks with Darren McGregor also out recovering from a knee op.
He said: “We’ve had a real blow with Liam. It looked innocuous but the ligament has come away from the bone.”