Neil Lennon EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Celtic boss wants Ireland job

In an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes Fanzone, Neil Lennon discusses the possibility of becoming the new Republic of Ireland manager plus Celtic’s potential transfer business.

Ireland job appeals to me… 

The Ireland vacancy is definitely something I would talk about. I’m sure there’s a process going on at the minute, and listen, it’s brilliant to be linked with the job. It’s something that would appeal to me. I’ll just have to wait and see. I’m sure they’re going to take their time with the decision; I don’t think they play again until March, so that allows them enough time to consider their candidates. But it’s brilliant to see my name in the mix, for sure. We’ll just wait and see if that ever develops.

Moving to Ireland wouldn’t bother me. You know, I went to Cyprus for a year, and that was obviously a big cultural change. I went out there on my own because my son was sitting important exams at the time and I didn’t want to take him out of school. So, again, there’s no issue there with me, if I was to go over to Ireland, or abroad again. My son is now a full-time player at St Mirren, so he’s got his own career to look after and his mum would be right behind him with that. So I’ve no real issue with moving anywhere, really. If it’s the right job, and it’s the right sort of project that I want to take on, I’ll happily move for it.

Stephen [Kenny] was really brave in that job, bringing in so many young players who will all benefit from that international experience at such an early age. And I think that whoever takes over from him will owe him a debt of gratitude for being brave enough to bring this new generation in. It’s always difficult bringing young players in, especially to the tough environment that is international football. But Stephen was really forthright in what he wanted to do, and that has to be respected.

There’s huge potential there for the next manager to come in and take that team to the next level.

Priority for Celtic is keeping hold of O’Riley, but you can’t stop the progress…

Matt O’Riley has had a huge impact on the team this season, he’s been magnificent in all areas; wherever I’ve watched him, be it domestically or in Europe… he’s been excellent. His three assists in the Champions League were out of this world, and his game has just improved no end. Under Brendan [Rodgers], he’s scoring a lot of goals, and creating so many opportunities for the team. He’s always a threat, and he’s got a real knack of making those late runs into the box, undetected. He’s a fantastic talent, and he’s been a brilliant bit of business for the club.

The priority, for the club, is to keep hold of him, particularly in January. I’m sure there’ll be a lot of offers coming in for him, but I think the club are in a position to stay strong in the January window. I do think that Brendan will want to trim the squad in other areas, but I’m sure O’Riley will stay until the end of the season… at least that’s what I’m hoping for, anyway!

But you can’t stop the progress, so I would imagine selling him will be something that Celtic will look at in the summer. He’s proven himself at the highest level, in the Champions League. He’s been the best player in Scotland this season, so you’re looking at £25-30 million for him, at least. He’s made his debut for Denmark, too, so all of these things have come very quickly to him in the last few months, but that’s down to the boy, his family, and the way his career has been managed up to this point.

I think he’s a top, top player, and I think that he could play at a very high level in the Premier League. You know, Celtic will get top dollar for him, I’m sure of that. If you’re looking at any of the top six or seven teams in England, Matt could play there. Maybe he wouldn’t get straight into the first eleven, but he’d take his game up a level at any of those clubs, I’m sure of that. He’s such an intelligent player and he takes everything on board from his coaches; whoever he’s playing under.

It’s not just the Premier League, though; he could easily go and play abroad… maybe in Spain, Italy, or one of the big clubs in Germany… that wouldn’t surprise me. But I want him to finish off all of his good work at Celtic first, though. He’s been a real standout player this season, and it’s really important they can keep hold of him past this January transfer window, at least.

We knew within a week or two that keeping hold of Van Dijk was going to be impossible

I had a year with Virgil van Dijk a Celtic, and he was easy to manage, because he was so good. What you see with Virgil now is what I saw when he was 21… my only surprise was that he didn’t go straight to one of the big clubs when he left Celtic, because he was that good. He went to Southampton, who were very good, and very smart, in their recruitment. And they obviously went and made a huge profit on him when he went to Liverpool.

He played Champions League football for me, and he had everything. There was no question – even at that time – that he was going to go on to become one of the best in the world in his position. He’s gone on to prove that; he’s already got a Champions League in the cabinet, a Premier League in the cabinet, and he captains his country… he’s probably the best player I’ve ever worked with. He was fantastic.

We don’t keep in touch that often, because he’s got his own career to think about. He’s made huge steps, though, going forward, and I’m just so proud of him, like I am of all of my players who have gone on to do great things. I’m just delighted I was able to play a part in his journey to where he is now.

He had a good dressing room at Celtic to settle into; obviously there was Browny [Scott Brown], but then there was Joe Ledley, Charlie Mulgrew, Fraser Forster, Mikael Lustig; all of these boys would have played a big part in him settling into the team. Virge spoke good English, and I think that once the boys saw what he had to offer, there was an instant respect there for him. He fitted into our system like a hand in a glove. I wouldn’t say he was supremely confident, but he certainly had a belief in his abilities.

After a week or two, we knew it was going to be impossible for us to keep him for a sustained period of time, because he was just that good. And that proved to be the case, but as a boy, he was wonderful. His personality was great, and he was an incredible asset to the team in the time that he spent with us.

Here’s where Celtic can strengthen in January…

The main concern for me when it comes to where Celtic can still strengthen, is the lack of height and physicality sometimes, particularly against higher quality opposition. Callum McGregor is having to play in a six role, and I think he’s far better in the eight. So I’d want a new number six to come in, a ball winner, a new, strong presence in midfield. And then another striker to supplement Kyogo [Furuhashi]. [Hyeon-Gyu] Oh’s still a work in progress, you know. He’s got really good attributes, and he’ll come good in years to come.

But for the here and now, I’d just be looking to strengthen those two central areas, in midfield and up front. They’ve got plenty of wingers, and plenty of cover at centre-half, when everyone’s fit. But I’d like to see a bit more physicality in the team… particularly in that number six area.