Lennon looks for great leap forward in Europe
HIBS boss Neil Lennon insists he is targeting the Europa League group stages after resolving to stay with the Easter Road club and rebuild his squad. Lennon ended the season with a question mark hanging over his future but admits he spoke too emotively in the wake of the 2-1 defeat to Hearts that cost Hibs second place earlier this month.
Lengthy meetings with the club’s board and recruitment staff resolved many of the issues that had forced him to state he was considering his future and he is now plotting a forward course.
Celtic’s Scottish Cup win last weekend confirmed Hibs’ fourthplaced finish would be enough to seal a European place and Lennon admits he is excited by the prospect of a return to the continental fray, an arena in which he frequently competed as player and manager with the Parkhead side.
‘I’ve been through the qualifiers before with Celtic and you have to hit the ground running,’ he said. ‘It’s difficult but the incentives are great. We’re targeting the group stages, absolutely. When you see
some of the clubs who are in it, it’s tough but not insurmountable.
‘A couple of Irish teams have done it in Dundalk and Shamrock Rovers. It’s not impossible but the timing makes it hard as a lot of teams are already well up to speed.
‘But it means so much to fans and the rewards are great.’
Lennon wouldn’t be speaking so positively had he not received assurances that resources would be available to augment his squad for next season.
Hibs had been resigned to losing Dylan McGeouch but Lennon has spoken of a ‘small chink of light’ regarding the efforts to persuade him to sign a new contract.
If hopes of keeping McGeouch remain slim and a deal to sign striker Jamie Maclaren from German side Darmstadt looks financially tricky, Lennon is more positive regarding two other loanees from last season.
Striker Florian Kamberi was a huge hit following his short-term move from Grasshoppers in January, scoring nine goals and finishing on the losing side just once in 14 appearances.
A deal is being worked on to make the move permanent and Lennon will also attempt to extend Scott Allan’s loan from Celtic.
‘There’s no question we’ve got a bit of work to do on the squad but, although we need to freshen it up, I know the nucleus will still be there,’ said Lennon. ‘The club are doing what they can to bring the loan players back on a permanent basis. We’re back in on June 18 and hopefully the main business will be done by then.’
Brisk business will be key if Hibs are to make a dent on the Europa League qualifiers, which commence on July 12.
Lennon’s first competitive assignment as Hibs boss two years ago saw the team face Brondby and the manager was at once frustrated at the Danes’ superior match sharpness and delighted by his team’s competitiveness.
Hibs had qualified via the club’s 2016 Scottish Cup win but were still a Championship club.
He added: ‘My team surprised me against Brondby two years ago when we beat them in the second leg — I knew I had a right good group then.
‘Unfortunately we went out on penalties but they were a good side. Hopefully that experience will stand us in good stead.
‘If it was September we’d be rubbing our hands because five or six games into the league season, you’re bang at it.
‘Because it’s early, it’s difficult and you’re going to all corners of Europe in different weather and time zones. You must acclimatise quickly and it’s interesting for a manager. I’ve been to Kazakhstan with Celtic and Eastern Europe. You go into the unknown and you can’t get footage of teams.
‘You just have to work with what you’ve got.’
That is doubtless a message the Hibs board would have been keen to convey when they met with their manager in the days after the club’s season-closing 5-5 draw with Rangers at Easter Road.
Lennon had become frustrated with the delay in getting the Kamberi deal over the line and was concerned his team would be broken up after just a single season in the Premiership.
Chief executive Leeann Dempster sought to allay his fears, while there was also some rare face time with chairman Rod Petrie.
Lennon admits his outburst was heat-of-the-moment stuff.
‘There wasn’t a problem with the board post-Hearts, not really,’ reflects Lennon. ‘It was just my own personal frustrations being let out because we’d blown any chance of second place.
‘I think Leeann and Rod know what to expect from me now, they know what I’m like. They probably just roll their eyes.
‘Especially at that time of the season when I’m tired and winding down. I get a bit cranky.
‘I said I was considering my own position. But there hasn’t been a season gone by when I haven’t done that. In the four years I had at Celtic, certainly the year I had at Bolton and also last year at Hibs — I looked at my own position — you always do.
‘I probably just never said it publicly before. You always take stock, see how you’re feeling yourself because you need time to rest and recuperate. I have to re-energise myself.
‘Was it cathartic or do I wish I hadn’t done it? Probably a bit of both. Sometimes I think I shouldn’t have said it. But other times, when it’s building and building, I need to let off a bit of steam.
‘It’s not all about me. That’s the crux of it, I shouldn’t be talking about myself publicly when I have my own thoughts and values — not just on my profession — but on my life.’
‘I appreciate what I’ve got at Hibs. I know you won’t get many better jobs than the one I’ve got now, in terms of enjoyment and comfort.
‘There’s no real pressure. I’m left to get on with the football side while in the background the club just ticks along nicely.
‘The fact we’ve got European football will bring in finances and hopefully we’ll get decent gates if we negotiate the first round.
‘And it gives me something to get my teeth into as a manager. There’s excitement there already.’
Incentive there to reach group stage but you have to hit ground running