Neil Lennon is not phased by any opinions that suggest he might not be the right man to lead Celtic forward, believing it gives him an edge when approaching the job, The Daily Record report.
Lennon has come in for his fair share of criticism this summer.
The announcement of his permanent appointment after the Scottish Cup final came as a surprise for some. There was certainly a section of the support that believed he wasn’t the right man for the job.
In wake of defeat to Cluj in the UEFA Champions League, there were plenty more who felt that standards were slipping at the club in the wake of Brendan Rodgers’ reign.
Since then though Celtic have performed excellently. Lennon is happy to roll with the punches and focus on doing his best for Celtic.
Asked what he needs to do to prove himself to doubters, the manager told The Daily Record: “I don’t know and, to be fair, sometimes that gives you a bit of an edge – and that’s good because you should never get comfortable in this job.
“It makes you work that little bit harder and this is a results-driven business. If you can get the performance and result, even better.”
Has Lennon been too harshly criticised?
The manager certainly deserved his share of the blame for the Cluj defeat, although it wasn’t entirely his fault. His team selection that night was poor and it was important he learned from the mistake.
However, that blip aside, Celtic have done everything asked of them since he arrived at the club in February. Taking over from Rodgers in the circumstances he did wasn’t easy. It was a real battle to secure the treble treble and Lennon delivered.
So far this season we’re looking very sharp domestically too. Four wins from four in the league, including a derby win at Ibrox, is nothing to sniff at.
We can also look forward to being competitive in the UEFA Europa League group stage after seeing off Swedish champions AIK in dominant fashion.
He deserves credit for the way he’s handled himself over the last six months and hopefully his philosophical attitude on criticism that comes his way continues to spur him on and help us secure big results.
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