SHOW THEM YOU ARE THE MAN
Why can’t Murty be the manager at Ibrox? I tried to make a good fist of it as caretaker at Celtic and Graeme seems to be doing the same
NEIL LENNON was certain that Derek McInnes would be standing opposite him in the Rangers technical area at Easter Road tonight.
But when the Hibs boss glances across at Graeme Murty instead, he’ll be looking at a man he believes could become the next permanent manager at Ibrox.
Lennon knows all about the pressure of being parachuted in to take charge of one of Glasgow’s footballing giants in a caretaker capacity.
The Northern Irishman was given the chance to steady the ship at Celtic Park after the sacking of Tony Mowbray in March 2010 — and did so well that he remained in place for four trophyladen years.
After McInnes turned down the Rangers job to remain at Pittodrie, Lennon feels Murty will be using his extended stint in charge as a lengthy job interview, just like he did with such success at Parkhead.
‘Graeme Murty will, absolutely, be looking at this as a massive opportunity,’ he said.
‘There don’t seem to be any outstanding candidates for the Rangers job, which is strange.
‘I thought Derek McInnes would be in the away dugout tonight, but, now that Derek has decided to stay at Aberdeen, Graeme is in a good position.
‘Whether he wants it or not, I couldn’t answer that. But I certainly wanted the Celtic job and I tried to make a right good fist of it at the time — and Graeme seems to be doing the same.
‘Why can’t he do it? That’s what he should be thinking! Make the most of the opportunity and, if the board decide not to offer it to him, then at least his reputation will be in good order and perhaps someone else will pick up on it.
‘If he wants the job, then it’s all about results. And if he keeps the results going, then why not?
‘I always knew I was taking Celtic to the end of that season. I don’t think Graeme has the luxury of knowing what the timescale is, but he has handled the situation very well. He speaks very well, and he bats off any questions he can’t answer.’ Under Murty’s temporary stewardship, Rangers have won three consecutive games for the first time since Boxing Day 2016. But Lennon is hoping to halt that run by securing the victory this evening that would see Hibs join their Ibrox rivals on 33 points.
‘They had two very impressive performances against Aberdeen and a good win at home to Ross County, so they are in a decent place,’ said Lennon, whose side go into the match having held champions Celtic to a pulsating 2-2 draw at Easter Road last Sunday.
‘They are in second, which you would expect them to be with the resources they have and with the money they’ve spent.
‘It has taken them plenty of time to get there, but Aberdeen won’t go away and we are hoping that we don’t go away as well.
‘Drawing level with them would be important. Winning is important. We want the players to think: “This is where we should be.”
‘I am not saying we will finish second. We have exceeded my expectations. But if we are to win against Rangers, we are going to have to play well.
‘This is a Rangers team that you have to respect because they have players who can score goals and hurt you. It’s a big three points for both teams.’
The last time Hibs played Rangers, it ended in an incidentpacked 3-2 win for the Edinburgh club at Ibrox in August, when their hosts were still under Pedro Caixinha’s command.
Afterwards, Rangers fans group Club 1872 called for police and the SPFL to take action against Lennon for ‘a clear attempt to incite trouble’ by cupping his ears and making an underarm gesture towards the main stand after Simon Murray’s 20th-minute equaliser.
The Hibs manager also clashed with Caixinha’s assistant Helder Baptista following that celebration.
No action was taken by either the league or the police and an unimpressed Lennon later described the fans’ statement as ‘laughable,’ ‘insignificant’ and ‘like it was written by a 15-year-old.’
There don’t seem to be any outstanding candidates for Rangers, which is strange
Lennon and Rangers have history dating back to his time captaining and managing Celtic — and he expects another lively affair under the lights in Leith.
But he also feels the fixture has been given an edge by the 2016 Scottish Cup final between Hibs and Rangers, when a team led by Alan Stubbs finally broke the Easter Road side’s 114-year jinx in the tournament by beating Mark Warburton’s side 3-2.
‘They are always feisty affairs,’ said Lennon. ‘I think there’s a bit of residue from the Scottish Cup final in 2016 between the fans and some of the players who are still here.
‘But we won’t be going out there to be overly-aggressive. That is not our style.
‘If it gets physical, then we can be physical — as long as the players do it within the laws of the game.’
Lennon welcomes back Danny Swanson, but has doubts over winger Brandon Barker, full-back Steven Whittaker and midfielder Marvin Bartley.
Bartley believes he will make the match, having missed the Ibrox victory in August that left Hibs believing they could make a mark on the top flight in their first season back after winning the Championship.
‘That result did a lot for us,’ said the 31-year-old Englishman.
‘There was a buzz about the training ground afterwards because we felt we could go on and do something in this league.
‘We showed our mentality that day after falling behind and we’ve done that in games against Celtic this season, including Sunday when we were 2-0 down and drew 2-2.
‘We knew how to bounce back, but it was that first Rangers game that made us feel confident within ourselves.
‘We thought Rangers would be there or thereabouts in the league, so, by winning there, we knew we would not be far off it ourselves.’