MANAGER VOWS TO FIGHT LIKE O’NEILL
NO figure has played a greater part in shaping Neil Lennon than Martin O’Neill. Himself a disciple of Brian Clough, the man from Kilrea identified something in the one-time Crewe midfielder that others could not see.
He built his Leicester team around him then paid £6million for Lennon to belatedly join him at Celtic. Together, on both sides of the border, they knew little other than success.
If the sparks did occasionally fly, mutual respect and admiration have remained constants down the years.
The sight of O’Neill filling the pages of newspapers this week was never going to be a sign that things were going well for his one-time on-field lieutenant. In football, such shows of support are rarely down to coincidence.
Speaking before Sparta Prague again stuck f our goals past Lennon’s side, it can be assumed that the former Republic of Ireland manager hasn’ t subsequently had a change of heart on his suitability f or the Celtic post.
For many, O’Neill’s words of support were no more than you would expect right now; when those they know are experiencing times of strife, it’s what old-school football men tend to do.
Lennon, for one, appreciated every last syllable. When many of those who once lionised you are unveiling banners calling for your removal, every public vote of confidence is welcome.
‘Martin knows me, as a person, a player and a manager, ’ said Lennon (below with O’Neill at Celtic). ‘He has been a massive influence on my career and in my life.
‘He believes in me. He believed in me when I played for him and he knows exactly what I am going through. He wouldn’t say anything publicly he doesn’t mean.
‘Every player or manager goes through a sticky patch in their career. I have had a lot worse than this, to varying degrees. I need to keep a calm head and a sense of perspective.’
Lennon was just weeks into his time at Leicester in 1996 when O’Neill was also in danger of bubbling under.
Then in the English Championship, t he Fox es had won just three games from 16 by March to make promotion via the play-offs seemingly beyond them. Lennon takes so lace from what came next.
‘ We lost at home to
Sheffield United and the Leicester fans spilled on to the pitch at Filbert Street,’ he recalled.
‘They were demanding a change of manager. Martin had to go through that but he remained strong.
‘We went unbeaten for nine or ten games. We ended up getting promoted and he became one of the best managers in the Premier League for the next five or so years. ‘He went through it i n various stages of his managerial career. It’s not easy but you have to stay strong. I take a lot of inspiration from that.’
While there are no shortage of similar tales of men dragging t hemselves away f r om t he precipice, many more don’t have the same happy ending.
Bluntly, if the same battling qualities which evidently l ay hidden within O’Neill’s Leicester dressing room 24 years ago are now lurking in Lennon’s, they are taking their time in making their presence felt.
As one adverse result has led to another and a rocky patch has developed i nto a f ull- blown crisis, the side’s grasp on the fundamentals of the game only appears to grow weaker.
More fragile then a snowflake and completely disjointed of late, there’s j ust no dressing up how matters have nosedived since Lennon’s side recorded their eighth successive win at St Johnstone in early October.
Just two wins have been claimed in nine subsequent games, with only one clean sheet in that time. In the eight other matches, 21 goals have been conceded.
This has not been the work of novices either; eight of Thursday’s starting XI in Prague featured in the epic victory over Lazio in Rome a year ago. Individually and collectively, they have lost their way.
Even ardent Lennon supporters are struggling to see how he and his side navigate a way through this.
‘I think it’s confidence more than anything,’ said the manager. ‘ Life at the training ground and our pre-match routines are different, because we l i ve in abnormal times.
‘I spoke to the players after the game in Prague and opened it up to them. We are all together and very much unified.
‘ We aren’t happy with the way things are and we are disappointed for the fans. The players are feeling it and they want to put it right.
‘This is a difficult situation for a club of this standing and in terms of the standards we set over the years. But it’s nothing we can’t turn around.’
Lennon doesn’t dispute that the current restrictions are impacting players up and down the land in an adverse way.
Looking purely at his own group, though, he feels the new r ecruits, in particular, are struggling to settle.
‘It can be difficult, especially for the new boys,’ he said. ‘They were
Leicester fans wanted Martin to go but he remained strong
very excited about coming to the club but the squad is split in different dressing rooms and the only time they see each other is on the e training ground. d.
‘Some are then en going home to o an empty house. They would have e been thinking they would have been able to socialise, eat at restaurants, meeting their mates in cafes.
‘It’s not been possible. I’m not saying that’s the only reason we are on a bad run.’
The suspicion remains that Lennon offered his theory for the main contributory factor after his side crashed out of the Champions League to Ferencvaros back in August.
The accusation that certain players didn’t want to be at the club has been inescapable ever since, simply because so few have failed to disabuse him of that notion. One year on from that night in Rome, the subsequent regression is illustrated by a table showing Celtic eliminated with two games to play. The players have largely remained the same. Many of their attitudes have not. ‘They have done fantastically well but they are lacking a bit of belief at the minute,’ the manager added. ‘ So there’s definitely a psychological difference. It’s nothing to do with them physically. ‘I just think they are lacking a little bit of belief at the minute and a little bit of confidence. I’m sure that will come back. They need to play their way through that.’
While a kinder run of games until the end of year provides a degree of comfort, the stark fact is that every opponent is entitled to fancy their chances against a side that presently seems fatally drawn to calamity.
‘These are the dirty bits of the game that we should do better,’ said Lennon.
‘Certainly we could do things better in transition — individually and collectively and certainly on the set-plays.
‘It’s maybe become a bit of an issue for them. They’ve just got to be confident and trust themselves to deal with it.
‘We didn’t have a problem with it last year but for some reason it’s become a problem this year.
‘We’re working very hard (to change it). I may look at it differently the way we set up at set-plays defensively in terms of the man- marking side of things.’