FAST FORWARD
All-out attack is Lennon’s mantra as he looks to bring Celts up to speed for new season
NEIL LENNON once likened being the manager of Celtic to the role of President of the United States of America. ‘There have only been a few of us in the course of the club’s history,’ he said in September 2017 while in charge of Hibs and ahead of his first return to Parkhead as an opposition manager.
‘I’m number 18. It is a very special group to be among.’
Just 20 months later, Lennon was being inaugurated as Celtic’s 21st permanent manager after a successful trial period following Brendan Rodgers’ shock departure.
On Tuesday evening, nine years after first doing so, the Northern Irishman will lead Celtic into a new campaign when the Champions League qualifiers kick off against FK Sarajevo in Bosnia.
If the Celtic boss has a message for the club’s followers ahead of his second term in office, it is this: Entertaining and faster attacking football will be at the very top of his manifesto.
‘We had an attacking team in my first spell at Celtic and we had an attacking team at Hibs,’ said Lennon.
‘I want to bring that here. We have attacking players and I would maybe like to quicken the tempo at times.
‘I want to get the ball forward into the strikers and wide men quicker. I want us to create more excitement and goal chances, rather than control the game passively.
‘The team liked to control games a certain way last season. I’d like it to be more attacking-minded from the off, really.
‘Did we score enough goals last season? Can we get more? Can we be more purposeful in possession and in the attacking third?
‘Defensively, we were excellent, especially in the second half of the season, and I want that to continue.
‘But I would like us to be more prolific and create more chances.
‘That is nothing to do with Brendan Rodgers. He is an attack-minded coach. But you can be attack-minded in different ways.
‘But you also need to be flexible. Maybe at different times we will use different systems against certain opposition.
‘It’s a matter of finding a formation that suits all the personnel.
‘At Hibs, 3-5-2 worked really well with the midfield we had. But mostly, with Celtic, I’d expect a back four.’
Nine years older and wiser, Lennon admits to feeling a strange Zen-like calm during pre-season compared to his first spell in charge.
But the winning streak in him means he suspects that may change with the first whistle in the Balkans on Tuesday night.
‘It’s hard to compare how I feel now to my first spell as manager,’ he said.
‘But I don’t think the anticipation or excitement changes the closer you get to kick-off time.
‘It’s building, but I am older and more rounded now.
‘That was nine years ago, so I feel a little bit different. I know the environment better now and there is a familiarity. I know the
people behind the scenes and what is required. I feel comfortable but I am also very aware of the pressures this job brings.
‘I am excited and I am happy. I’m as content as I have been in a long time.
‘I probably won’t be five minutes into the first game, but everything has been very calm.
‘We are pushing in the right direction and it just feels calm on a professional basis.
‘But you never lose that fire. We are competitors and we want to win. And that is my remit — to win.
‘That’s what Celtic is about and I have been here for nearly 20 years now. You never lose that. Maybe it manifests itself in different ways, but I can still lose my temper.
‘I will set standards, make demands, outline new priorities and targets. The league is the No 1 priority, but it’s way too early to think about that just now.’
In his first spell as Parkhead boss, Lennon masterminded famous wins over Barcelona and Spartak Moscow en route to reaching the Champions League knockout stages for only the third time in the club’s history.
However, four months later, they were back walking a qualifying tightrope, facing Cliftonville, Elfsborg and Shakhter Karagandy on the way to a successful return to the group stage.
Six years on, it is even tougher for Celtic, with four rounds of qualifiers to negotiate before the main event comes around.
But Lennon acknowledges his side will just have to deal with it.
‘The eight games in eight weeks schedule is ridiculous,’ he said.
‘That’s almost a quarter of a season before a ball has hardly been kicked in the Premiership.
‘We have touched on this for years and there is no benefit for any team involved. There is no respite at all for the players. It’s very difficult.
‘But I can’t think of the European qualifiers as being arduous. We have to take it on and we have to plan as best we can for the games.
‘The rewards are great if we get there — for everyone, not just Celtic.
‘It’s great for the Scottish game and I would really love to do it again. It would be special but it is tinged with the fact you have to go through four qualifying rounds.
‘That’s a big ask in the first games of a new season, but we just need to get our heads around it.’