Neil Lennon believed his days in top level management were over after he left Celtic as the Omonia Nicosia boss reflected on the "thrill" of facing Manchester United.
The Red Devils recorded a whopping 33 shots as Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford and Casemiro were denied by a string of wonder saves from Francis Uzoho to keep the Cypriot club in the game. However, Scott McTominay ended Nicosia's gritty Europa League resistance in injury time to spare Erik ten Hag's blushes against Lennon's side.
It comes less than 18 months after Lennon’s second era at Celtic ended during a disastrous bid to defend the Scottish Premiership title and secure 10 league titles in a row. Fans attended protests outside of Celtic after the meek League Cup defeat to Ross County signalled the end of Celtic's domestic dominance, which sparked the beginning of the end as Rangers romped to the Scottish Premiership title, reports The Daily Record.
READ MORE: Neil Lennon says he hopes Ireland players 'learn their lesson quickly' over pro-IRA song
Lennon admits he wasn't sure he would be able to manage on a European stage or at Old Trafford after a disappointing end to his time as Celtic boss. But he reckons he came close to recapturing the magic of the infamous Hoops win over Barcelona back in 2012.
Speaking after the game the Omonia boss said: "If we'd have got the draw it would have been up there with beating Barcelona. Just for the magnitude of the disparity between the two teams, that's why I'm gutted and I'm gutted for the players as well.
"Look, bottom line over the course of the game, let's be realistic, Man United deserved to win which you would expect anyway. But for my players to put on a display like that was beyond my expectation.
"I'm a little bit disappointed with our play in the final third. We give the ball away far too easily and too cheaply, and then we just had to settle with putting a line across and seeing if we can get a result.
"That's not how I want my teams to play, sort of digging in and just seeing it out. But I never thought I would coach here as a manager after some great times at Celtic and other clubs, but it's been a thrill.
"Mr Ten Hag is an absolute gentleman and we played against one of the best teams in England. We can take a lot from that, but I like winning and I don't like losing."
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