Neil Lennon admits he could turn Celtic down

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Neil Lennon has admitted that he could turn down Celtic, as he claimed that club isn’t irresistible.

The interim boss has been offered the managerial role full-time at Parkhead. Despite that, of course, Lennon will have his own demands over both his contract and the transfer budget.

There seems to be a train of thought that Lennon will just accept whatever Celtic put in front of him. After all, he’s out of work if he doesn’t take the Celtic role, and considering how his stint at Hibs ended, this is a golden opportunity for him.

But speaking in the Scottish Sun, Lennon refused to accept the notion that he’ll accept whatever Celtic offer him. Instead, he admitted that there are scenarios where he would say no.

“No. You could say no.

“But I’m pretty steely about it and I know what I want to do. I’ll take stock of things, obviously I have a lot to think about. I’m still quite emotional at the minute, there is a lot to take in.

“Of course, yeah (on whether he could turn the job down). There is a lot to think about. But again when you get offered a job like this it’s really, really difficult to turn it down.”

Don’t expect any shocks here

It’s fairly interesting to hear Lennon so noncommittal to the role like this. But, at the end of the day, we all strongly believe that he’ll give the offer the green light. Everything has worked out perfectly for the Northern Irishman, and he should relish the opportunity.

But this is also why Celtic must show ambition and back their manager this summer. Chief Executive Peter Lawwell claimed that the squad doesn’t need much rebuilding done (The Scotsman). With all due respect, however, that’s a decision that should be down to the manager, not the Chief Executive.

Lennon will likely want to see guarantees that he’ll be backed in the transfer market. His warning about potentially saying no is hopefully just a bit of a warning to the board not to behave cheaply during negotiations.

Celtic could do without the embarrassment of being turned down by Lennon. Considering he is the club’s first-choice, we all have no other option but to back him, regardless of who we wanted in the door.

Lennon’s warning most probably isn’t anything to be concerned about. But the board can’t be so dismissive of it when it comes to contract talks either.