Celtic managers have to deal with the spotlight more than any other.
We have seen Brendan Rodgers, Ange Postecoglou and Neil Lennon all handle it differently over recent years.
But in 2011, when Lennon was still fresh in the Celtic Park dugout, he was seemingly magnetic to controversy and abuse which crossed well beyond the line on several occasions.
His first full season in charge saw the title race go right to the wire, for his Celtic team to just miss out. They would secure a Scottish Cup win at Hampden however, and went on to win the next nine league titles.
Perhaps the most famous match of that season was a cup replay in March 2011 which saw three Rangers players sent off and Lennon caught in a dugout square-up with then-Ibrox assistant Ally McCoist.
Neil Lennon on Celtic vs Rangers incident with Ally McCost
The match was a replay after a 2-2 draw in the initial tie at Ibrox – yes, the game of *that* Scott Brown ‘Broony’ celebration against El Hadji Diouf.
Celtic won the replay 1-0 thanks to a goal from Mark Wilson, which Saša Papac definitely can’t remember.
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The dugout incident was what grabbed the headlines, though. It took place amid heated scenes after the full-time whistle, and saw Lennon point in McCoist’s face and shout in response to something he had heard.
Speaking to the Scottish Sun’s one-on-one, Lennon reflected on the incident 14 years on, and admitted that he doesn’t speak about it to McCoist.
Asked whether it was about McCoist talking about Celtic players, Lennon said: “No, it was the opposite.
“I wasn’t talking about them, because [El Hadji] Diouf had barged one of my physios, I’d had a pop at him and Coisty took offence to that.
“All is fair in love and war, do you know what I mean? It’s just words, more than anything else. In the rivalry, you don’t want to give an inch either way, so you don’t.
“We don’t really talk about it, because everybody else does. For us, I remember Walter [Smith] giving us a bit of a dressing down after it, just to behave. And that was it. ‘Behave yourselves, grow up.'”
Lennon has certainly grown up since then, but knowing him, you still wouldn’t rule out another high-profile dugout incident in the future…
Neil Lennon’s first spell at Celtic
Looking back, it’s remarkable that Lennon continued in his role despite receiving death threats, bombs in the post and being attacked in the dugout and the street.
Not only did he pull through, but he survived early-season pressure to win the SPL title in 2012, and went on to deliver one of the most famous nights in the club’s history against Barcelona that November.
He substantiated the Barcelona win by qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League that season too. Fraser Forster, Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dijk are among the players he unearthed during his spell.
After winning the title again the following campaign with just one league defeat all season, departed the club to be replaced by Ronny Deila.
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