Revamp can restore roar at Hampden
BY IAN ORR HIBS boss Neil Lennon has welcomed the SFA’s decision to stay at Hampden but insists the “soulless” ground is in desperate need of a revamp to rediscover its roar.
SFA chiefs have decided to remain at the National Stadium rather than groundshare at Murrayfield after a £5million deal was agreed with current owners Queen’s Park.
Concerns remain about Hampden’s atmosphere and the governing body have vowed to look at ways to improve the matchday experience – citing how German club Stuttgart redeveloped a similar stadium in 2009.
Lennon has enjoyed many memorable days out at Hampden, winning eight domestic cups there as player and manager at Celtic, but admits the ground must be upgraded.
He said: “It needs a revamp, the acoustics and logistics of the stadium are not great for football. We had the Champions League Final there in 2002 and that was a great occasion but that was basically a one-off.
“Some of the supporters are too far away from the pitch. They’re talking about a revamp and it badly needs it – it can be a bit soulless.
“It’s great, the SFA have done their bit and it’s going to be there as the traditional home but it definitely needs rejigged just to get the roar back into the stadium. Sometimes it can be a little bit quiet and you can almost hear the players on the pitch.”
Hibs played at Hampden in the League Cup semis last season but Lennon’s focus is on the Premiership just now and bouncing back from a 2-1 loss to Livingston in the game before the international break.
Ahead of the visit of Kilmarnock tomorrow, he told the BBC: “The break can be difficult, especially off the back of a defeat which we had.
“So it’s a long two weeks but we were all back on Thursday and we’re looking forward to the weekend.
“We had seven or eight away (on international duty) so it was quite quiet here at Hibs. You take in as many games as you can and take a couple of days off at the weekend.”