TOUGHEN UP
Hibs must shed ‘boy band’ image declares Lennon
NEIL LENNON has vowed to rid Hibernian of their soft-centre image — after claiming too many Easter Road sides down the years have been like ‘a boy band’.
Unveiled yesterday as the successor to Alan Stubbs, Lennon immediately set his sights on winning the Championship then clinching a top-four finish in the Premiership over the duration of his two-year
contract. But although the former Celtic and Bolton boss praised the players he is inheriting — and who helped the Leith club win the Scottish Cup for the first time in 114 years — he said the inconsistency which has plagued so many previous Hibs teams must become a thing of the past. Asked if there had been a softness to Hibs throughout his time in Scotland, the 44-year-old replied: ‘I agree. I’ve been one of the first ones to say that about Hibs. Boy band. ‘When I played against them, they had the Scott Browns and Steven Whittakers and all these lads. They would play well against Celtic and then go out partying in Edinburgh afterwards, getting pats on the back. Then they would go and lose to Motherwell the following week. ‘I won’t tolerate that. I don’t want them getting pats on the back for beating Raith Rovers or drawing away at Dumbarton. I’ll give them a pat on the back if they get promotion. ‘They’ve got to learn quickly. It’s not acceptable for a club of this standard. Inconsistency won’t be tolerated. Or ill-discipline.’ Lennon will travel to France today to work as a radio analyst at Euro 2016 but is already pressing ahead with his plans for next year ahead of pre-season training beginning on June 23. As Sportsmail revealed yesterday, the Northern Irishman is under no pressure to sell any of his star players to balance the financial burden of a third year in the Championship. Asked if he sought assurances on the futures of the likes of John McGinn and Jason Cummings, Lennon said: ‘The club will do everything they can to keep them here and so will I. The club have already made that pretty clear to the players. ‘I want to keep them. I want to build a team around them. The core of the team is good. We just need to add a few bits of pieces. I want to keep those two. ‘Jason is a proven goalscorer and John has already gone on to be capped with Scotland.’