Lennonhas sympathy for suspended Carragher

NEIL LENNON, the Hibs manager, last night insisted shamed football pundit Jamie Carragher deserved a second chance with Sky Sports.

The former Liverpool defender is fighting for his reputation and his job after footage emerged of him spitting in the direction of a 14-yearold girl and her father who were in a moving car after being goaded following Manchester United’s 2-1 over the Anfield side on Saturday.

Carragher, 40, was suspended on Monday from his role until the end of the season, when his position will be reviewed.

Lennon knows Carragher and insists while it is impossible to excuse the former defender’s actions, he believes it is entirely out of character.

“I am not condoning what he has done, but I think everyone deserves a second chance,” said the Easter Road boss.

“It’s a split-second, really bad decision, it was wrong and he has been completely contrite about the whole thing.

“It is very difficult to draw a line under it. He is going to have to live with that for a while, but I don’t believe it should cost him his job or career. It was one moment of madness and Jamie will be going through a really tough time at the minute.

“I know Jamie personally, I have met him a few times and I have always found the kid easy to deal with.

“It’s difficult to comprehend what was going through his mind, actually doing what he did. There might be more to it than what we saw on camera to possess Jamie to do that.

“I do have a little sympathy for him. We’ve all done things that we regret.”

The daily grind of being a well-known face and potential target for hostility is well known to Lennon.

“That’s happened to me many, many times – and not just me. I have talked to Graeme Souness about it.

“He went through the same thing when he was managing up here. I am sure managers elsewhere go through it. It’s unfair.

“You become sensitive, you become paranoid and it is very difficult not to react to certain things.

“Sometimes you just want to be able to get away from that and relax and that can be difficult, no matter where you go.

“I was going through the airport on Tuesday in Dublin to do the telly and getting stopped and, although you don’t mind, it can get pretty wearing after a while.”

The omnipresence of camera phones and social media have only exacerbated that issue, according to Lennon.

“Andy Flintoff [former England cricket international] was talking about an incident that happened to him in Dublin,” Lennon continued.

“A guy came up to him, started talking – then tried to sling a punch at him. He had to hold him to the ground and he couldn’t do anything just in case someone was filming it.

“Everybody says you are role models. I get that. But they are human beings as well and they are surely allowed a bit of private time.”