SOCCER/ SCOTTISH PREMIER LEAGUE:CELTIC ARE confident Neil Lennon will stay on as manager despite being attacked during Wednesday night's victory at Hearts and the discovery yesterday of a package containing a bullet addressed to him.
Lennon’s representative, Martin Reilly, said it would not be in his client’s nature to walk away.
“We will sit down in the summer and have a right good chat,” Reilly said. “I don’t see Neil going. I don’t see him wanting to go. Would he give in to these guys?
“He won’t be driven out of Scotland, he won’t throw in the towel. Certain people thrive on wanting Lennon to be a failure. They tried it for 10 years when he was player and it didn’t work. It won’t work when he is a manager.”
In the latest ugly chapter of a grim Scottish season – which has been most notable for threats towards Lennon – the 39-year-old was attacked on the sidelines at Tynecastle after his team’s second of three goals. A parcel intended for Lennon and containing the bullet was intercepted in the mailroom at Celtic Park.
Lennon’s situation had triggered speculation that he would walk away from Celtic at the end of this season. The Northern Irishman is operating on a six-month, rolling contract. However, the club are supporting Lennon and are content for him to continue into the next campaign.
The Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell said: “I don’t think the club has ever been more united behind Lennon. We will be prepared, through that unity, for next year. Neil is a remarkable man. He is proud to be the Celtic manager and gets energy and strength through his job. I feel he has the strength of character, through his love of the club and love of the job, to take him forward.”
Lennon’s only communication since the 3-0 win over Hearts arrived via Twitter. Lennon said: “Don’t let what happened to me tonight take the shine off a wonderful team performance. I don’t walk alone.”
Lawwell put the blame on Scottish society. “It is intolerable that any football club, or individual, going about their lawful business in the name of sport should be subjected to this ongoing campaign of hatred and intimidation,” the chief executive said. “This is Scotland’s shame and it is high time Scotland addressed it.”
Reilly echoed Lawwell’s sentiment about the need for strong action. “Neil isn’t going to hang about to get beatings, he isn’t going to hang about to get bomb threats,” he said. “These people have to be dealt with.”
Hearts have banned the 26-year-old who allegedly attacked Lennon from Tynecastle for life. The Edinburgh club fears that it could incur heavy punishment for the affair given the context and after strong words of condemnation from the Scottish FA and Scottish Premier League. The chief executives met at Hampden Park yesterday to discuss the attack.
“We’ll be focusing on the situation that led to him (the assailant) being able to get access to the perimeter track and that’s something we’ll be discussing in detail with the home club,” said Neil Doncaster, the chief executive of the SPL.
Hearts said they had fears about the volatility of the Celtic fixture and held a two-hour meeting with the police, three weeks before the game. As a direct consequence, double the number of police officers and 25 per cent more stewards were on duty at Tynecastle than would be routine.
Yet Hearts have attracted unwanted attention for similar incidents in the recent past. Two years ago, the Hibernian striker Derek Riordan was confronted by a Hearts supporter on the Tynecastle pitch after scoring a penalty.
Earlier in this campaign, the Rangers player Steven Naismith had missiles thrown at him after scoring a late winner at Hearts’ home.
Guardian Service
