“It’s exciting”; Neil Lennon delivers classy Eddie Howe to Celtic verdict live on radio

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Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon has shown his class live on BBC radio today, giving the thumbs up to Eddie Howe and the vacant job.

Lennon left the Bhoys under a cloud earlier this season, choosing to call time on his second spell as manager after dreadful Scottish Premiership form.

It can’t be easy for him to witness all the speculation and excitement about Howe’s potentially imminent appointment at Celtic.

However, he’s dealt with questions on the matter gracefully today and reckons the appointment of the former Bournemouth boss would be a coup for the club he loves.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live (12:50) this afternoon, Lennon said: “It’s quite a culture shock and if we are hypothetically talking about Eddie he’s coming from a real family club like Bournemouth. He’s lived there and worked there all his career.

“I think it would be a coup for Celtic to get someone like Eddie, I think he’s a top coach. His style of play suits a club like Celtic, he’d be ingratiated with the Celtic fans very quickly if he can adopt that style that he had at Bournemouth.

“In the Championship and then in the first formative years in the Premier League they were great to watch. But off the field, away from the training ground, life’s going to be very, very different to what he was used to at Bournemouth.

“Glasgow’s not a huge city but you’ve got two humongous clubs there and the rivalry is thousands of years old – and it’ll go on for the next thousand years as well. So it’s exciting, but it’ll take a bit of adapting for him there’s no question about that.”

Lennon is now making the switch to a media career while he’s out of management work and Radio 5 Live appears to be his go-to outlet. He’s appeared on the station a number of times since leaving Celtic.

Clearly, he’ll be disappointed with how things ended up this season, but it’s great to see he’s not holding any bitterness and is even complimenting his potential successor.

If Howe is announced as the new Celtic boss early next week, as The Scottish Sun have reported, no doubt Lennon will be as much of a supporter as anyone.

In other news, Celtic fans already have an Eddie Howe terrace chant and it’s an absolute belter.