I’m proud of my old friends Lennon
NEIL Lennon has said he is proud of former Crewe Alexandra team-mates who helped convict Barry Bennell.
Hibs boss Lennon played alongside victims Andy Woodward – for whom he was best man – and Steve Walters at the English club at the time of the pervert’s crimes.
But he said he never had any idea of the agony they were suffering.
He said: “I feel sorry, and I feel angry, that my team-mates and my friends went through that.
“I also feel sad that they couldn’t confide in anyone, that this guy had such a magnetic hold over them that Andy couldn’t even tell his parents.
“We had no idea. I was best man at Andy’s first wedding, we were friends, we used to travel from Manchester to Crewe in the car every day and I had no inkling whatsoever.
“You almost feel that I’ve let them down, because Woody was a good friend of mine at that time.”
Lennon joined Crewe in 1990 after leaving Manchester City, while Woodward and Walters came through the youth ranks at the club.
Bennell, a junior football coach and youth scout, worked at the club in the 80s and the 90s.
Lennon said of Bennell: “He could put on a very good front. There was a real touch of arrogance about him as well. He was very sure of himself.
“It’s horrific. This guy has ruined lives, ruined careers. It’s heartbreaking.
“I spoke to Steve – I was trying to get down to play in a charity game in July but I couldn’t make it.
“I spoke to Woody. I’m really proud of the way that they’ve come out of this and the way that they’ve handled it.
“It’s easy for us to say, ‘Speak about it.’ But there’s the machismo thing, the self-awareness thing … and the hurt they must have been going through.”