Neil Lennon
Monday, July 1, 2013
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Celtic FC
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Date of birth: 25 June 1971
Nationality: Northern Irish
Playing career: Manchester City FC, Crewe Alexandra FC, Leicester City FC, Celtic FC, Nottingham Forest FC, Wycombe Wanderers FC
Coaching career: Celtic FC
• A hard-working midfielder, Lennon made his name at Crewe, featuring in almost 150 games before joining Leicester in 1996. Won two English League Cups in four and a half years under Martin O'Neill, whom he joined at Celtic in December 2000.
• Six and a half years as a player at Celtic Park yielded a domestic treble in 2000/01 and league and cup doubles in 2003/04 and 2006/07, plus two more league titles and further triumphs in both the Scottish Cup and League Cup.
• Capped 40 times by Northern Ireland, Lennon hung up his boots after short spells at Forest and Wycombe, whom he left to take up the position of first-team coach at Celtic under Gordon Strachan in April 2008.
• Appointed caretaker manager following Tony Mowbray's dismissal in March 2010, Lennon won every remaining league game that season, though Celtic were beaten by second-tier Ross County FC in the Scottish Cup semi-finals.
• Given the job full time that June, Lennon missed out on the league title by a single point in his first full season but claimed the Scottish Cup. Led Celtic to a first championship in four years in 2011/12, when he was named manager of the year, and better was to follow in 2012/13 as Celtic reached the UEFA Champions League last 16 for the first time since 2007/08, crowning the season with a domestic double.