Neil Lennon returns to Paradise today after answering the call to steady the Celtic ship back into the harbour after the last crew abandoned her.
The last time Lennon was handed control of a Celtic team it was in a mess. This time around he has been gifted with an opportunity to write his name in the history books with just months of the season left and two trophies to play for. Those two trophies are the final two pieces of a massive jigsaw now known as the “Treble Treble”.
Lennon might have been giving a gift with the trophies available to him but his first two games seen Lenny very much been thrown into the deep end. Two away games at Hearts and Hibs were a tough task, but the interim boss has come out of Edinburgh smelling of roses. Today he finally gets a home game to a sold-out Celtic Park.
Some fans want Lenny to stay on after the season is over, some fans want Celtic to bring in a big name but all fans are 100% behind their old captain. We can’t think of someone better who could have been brought in to take the reigns. He has handled the players and media to perfection. Lennon has the respect of the fans, the players and clearly the board too.
The Lurgan native will probably get a better reception today against Aberdeen after going to Edinburgh and putting more points on the league table and guiding Celtic into the semi-final of the Scottish Cup to face The Rangers or the Dons. It’s sure to be a special pre-match build-up today and Celtic fans will probably have something planned for the return.
So five minutes of applause and shouting, then the game kicks off and back to the normal silence.