Lennon would relish return to Old Firm fray

NEIL LENNON has revealed he would love to throw himself back into Old Firm management if asked to take the reins at Celtic again.

The Bolton Wanderers boss, who held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw in the FA Cup yesterday, admitted he had missed the edge of competing for titles with Rangers for the last two years of his spell in charge.

And, if the chance arose, he would be prepared to ‘do a Walter Smith’ and return to the big Glasgow rivalry.

‘There’s no question I would go back,’ said Lennon in a BBC Radio Scotland documentary Managing The Old Firm to be aired this week. ‘I’m not saying it will ever happen but, if the opportunity came along and I was ready, I wouldn’t have any hesitation.

‘There is a huge part of me that will always have an affinity with the club. It was tumultuous, it was exciting, it was breathtaking at times, it was everything you wanted it to be. There were feelings that you will probably never replicate again in your life.

‘There were scenes that you could never replicate in your life at any other club or any other environment. And I’m talking about the big two, those [Old Firm] games.

‘I always remember Walter [Smith] saying: “You’ll feel relief when you win it and you’ll feel as flat as a pancake when you lose it”.’

Lennon’s successor Ronny Deila will lead Celtic into the first Old Firm fixture for three years next Sunday at Hampden — an experience Lennon is sure will be like no other for the Norwegian.

‘The build-up is weeks in advance, the tension is building and building,’ he said. ‘And even at times during the games, your stomach is still in knots.

‘I remember being 3-0 up one day at Celtic Park with 15 minutes to go and thinking: “If they get one, they could get back into this”.

‘You only really feel that relief when the final whistle goes.

‘This next one coming up is going to be the biggest one because it’s the first one in three years.

‘It may not be the classic Celtic v Rangers we’re used to, with the quality on the pitch but, in terms of the significance of the game, it’s fascinating.’