Lennon still in awe of his crazy night in the capital

BACK in February, as Edinburgh was recovering from the effects of Storm Erik, Neil Lennon found himself at the centre of a whirlwind of events that blew him unexpectedly into the capital.

At the end of a day of high drama, the Northern Irishman was handed the reins at Celtic for a second time after Brendan Rodgers shocked Scottish football by quitting the treble Treble-chasing Parkhead club midway through the season for Leicester City.

The following morning saw Lennon officially unveiled at a 10am press conference, before being whisked up to Lennoxtown to meet his squad.

A crazy 24-hour period culminated with him taking the team for the first time in a league match with Hearts at Tynecastle.

In a hectic contest that saw Celtic fans unfurl a banner denouncing Rodgers as ‘a fraud’, Oliver Bozanic’s penalty cancelled out an opener for the visitors from James Forrest.

After Jamie Brandon was sent off for the hosts, the encounter ended in suitably frenzied fashion with a stoppage-time winner from Odsonne Edouard.

Celtic were off and running under Lennon. They have not looked back since.

Suffice to say the build-up to his return to Gorgie this evening has not been quite as chaotic.

‘It was amazing,’ reflected Lennon. ‘I did the press conference at Celtic Park and then I met the squad. But I met most of them for the first time that night.

‘We were straight into a game but sometimes that’s a good thing because you don’t have too much time to think about it.

‘I think I have had a little bit more time to work with them this time — to get to know them and for them to get to know me!

‘We got a last-minute goal that night. I’m not overly keen on last-minute goals but you take them. It shows the mentality of the team at times and that night we dug out a great result.

‘We went on to the Scottish Cup quarter-final at Easter Road on the Saturday and we played really well there too (in a 2-0 win).’

Hearts are the team in a state of flux ahead of tonight’s match. Former Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel has been hired to replace the sacked Craig Levein and the German is aiming to stamp a Jurgen Klopp-style Gegenpress imprint on the team.

A dismal 1-0 home debut loss to St Johnstone on Saturday saw

Hearts booed off the pitch, with the team joint-bottom of the table with Hamilton Accies.

Lennon, however, is expecting a typically ferocious cup-tie style contest under the lights in the capital this evening.

‘Hearts haven’t really got going — it happens sometimes,’ he shrugged. ‘They’ve had horrendous injuries to key players at times as well, so you have to factor that in.

‘They might be lacking a little bit of confidence but it can almost turn into a cup tie where they really raise their game — so we will have to be on our mettle.

‘I know they are in a bit of a transition between managers.

‘It will take time for the new manager to put his stamp on the team. It doesn’t happen overnight. I’m sure slowly but surely he will put his stamp on the team.

‘He did really well at Barnsley in League One. I don’t think he had enough time in the Championship to make inroads (before being sacked in October) but he was really impressive in that promotion season.

‘It may take him a bit of time to get his ideas across but Tynecastle is still a tough place to go.’ Lennon welcomes back influential Scotland attacker Ryan Christie to the squad after he returned to training on Monday.

But he has doubts over the fitness of Jonny Hayes and Mikey Johnston, while Mohamed Elyounoussi is out for at least a fortnight.

Lennon, of course, has some deeply unpleasant personal history at Tynecastle. As Hibs manager last season, he was struck by a coin during an Edinburgh derby.

Back in 2011, a Hearts fan emerged from the stands and aimed a punch at Lennon before behind hauled away by security. The 26-year-old thug was subsequently jailed for eight months for a breach of the peace.

But all the Celtic manager is focusing on is the battle at the top of the table, which sees his side lead Rangers by just two points and two goals.

‘Does that previous stuff at Tynecastle play on my mind? Not really, no,’ said Lennon.

‘It’s normally a really great atmosphere and a good venue to play football.

‘There have been a few distasteful moments but you just have to get on with the job. I’ve got more important things to be thinking about than that.

‘We know that if we win, we will be five points clear. That’s all the incentive we need, really.’