NO ARGUMENT
Lennon’s track record in the Parkhead dugout shows he’s earned right to be ranked as great Celtic boss, says Forrest
FOR James Forrest, there is simply no debate. Does Neil Lennon deserve to be hailed as a truly great Celtic manager? ‘I don’t think anyone would question that,’ insists the winger, without hesitation. ‘Celtic was his first-ever job. He went from reserve team to first team and he did an incredible job.
‘He went away for a bit then came back and just picked up where he left off winning trophies. I don’t think anyone would question that if it’s said.’
Lennon’s status as the man who delivered Nine In A Row is a reminder that the wisdom of the crowd isn’t always to be trusted.
When the Northern Irishman was appointed as interim boss following the departure of Brendan Rodgers to Leicester City back in February 2019, there were more than a few grumbles from Celtic supporters.
Even after he secured league triumph No 8 in the current sequence and won the Scottish Cup to complete another Treble, some complained that Lennon’s appointment on a permanent basis was a retrograde step.
But Forrest, who broke through into the Celtic team during Lennon’s first spell as boss, never had any doubts about his suitability for the job.
‘When I came through the youth, he was my reserve manager for a bit and everyone knew how successful he was as a player here,’ said the Scotland international.
‘With Brendan Rodgers leaving when he did, the only right man for the job was Lennon coming back — and it has just worked out really well.
‘There must have been a massive amount of pressure for him when he came back then.
‘We had the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup coming up against Hibs and the league was still quite tight as well.
‘For the end of that season, it could not have gone better and, as the months have gone on, he’s put more and more of his stamp on it — and we’ve just had a really good full season. ‘Obviously, I’m delighted for him because, if it’s going well for him, it’s going well for us players. He’ll just want us all back and adding to what we’ve won already.’ Forrest, who has contributed to all nine consecutive titles, now has 19 medals to show for his Celtic career. As for plaudits to go with the trophies, well, European Cup winner Bobby Lennox has already compared the 28-year-old to the legendary Jimmy Johnstone. The self-effacing Forrest said: ‘Of course, it’s really good when you hear positive stuff from players from the past. Every player would say the same. Hearing something like that from Bobby Lennox is obviously good for your confidence. It shows you are doing something right.
‘It’s quite humbling and I think my family will feel really good about it.
‘But you don’t want to just rest. You can’t think: “Oh, someone has said this about me, so I don’t need to work as hard now”.
‘You have to keep the head down and push again. But, of course, when you hear something like that said about you by someone like Bobby Lennox, it’s far better than hearing someone say something negative about you, that’s for definite!
‘When you are playing, you don’t think about things like medal tallies or anything.
‘But it can be nice when you hear about it later and realise that you have done it.
‘When you are involved in it, it’s about playing as much as you can and keeping standards up to be as successful as possible. ‘Maybe when my career is finished, I can think more about it. But you can’t think too much about it now. You have to keep setting targets.
‘In the last couple of seasons, I feel as though I have kicked on. Last season was good, and I feel the way things were going this season with goals and assists, it was going to be strong again.
‘I thought I might have been on my way to better the numbers from the year before and that was good. Because that’s what you need to do.
‘Celtic get stronger and you need to keep improving, so you need to keep pushing forward to do well there.
‘Then the opposition gets stronger every year, so you need to keep dealing with that as well. Always up your game.’
Former Celtic boss Martin O’Neill, meanwhile, leapt into the title debate yesterday — by saying Celtic would want an asterisk put in the record books if Rangers had been crowned champions in exactly the same circumstances.
O’Neill is absolutely certain that Steven Gerrard’s men had no chance of clawing back Celtic’s 13-point lead even if the season, suspended just before an Old Firm clash at Ibrox in mid-March, had been played out in full. But he understands why Rangers supporters will look to cast a shadow over the triumph — and seek to devalue their rivals’ record-equalling ninth title in succession. ‘I can understand Rangers wanting to put an asterisk beside things,’ said O’Neill.
‘I’m sure if the shoe was on the other foot, that might be the same case. Obviously to prevent them from winning nine in a row, for a start.
‘But there should be no asterisk attached to that at all, absolutely not.
‘Celtic won it on the field and, had the games been completed, they would have surely gone on to do it. They deserve the credit for that. ‘Had the season been extended for a couple of weeks, they would have taken the points and got there. There’s no way Rangers could have caught them. From that viewpoint, (it was) deserved.’ However, O’Neill, who led Celtic to seven major honours and a UEFA Cup final between 2000 and 2005, believes the SPFL were too hasty in calling for an end to the campaign.
He told Stats Perform News: ‘My own personal viewpoint is that I don’t think the league should have been ended.
‘I know there’s lots of things that you have to take into consideration. There’s a lack of money around.
‘When would you start the season again? When would it all start up? You would have to play X number of games before the new season kicks in.
‘But ending the season is far from satisfactory.’