Martin O'Neill insists Neil Lennon will be remembered as Celtic legend in time despite a catastrophic end to his time as manager at Parkhead.
The Northern Irishman spent a year out of the game after leaving Celtic following a nightmare season for the Parkhead side seemingly went from one disaster to the next as the bid for 10 In A Row came to a screeching halt. 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.
Lennon has got his managerial career back on track in Cyprus with Omonia Nicosia, leading the minnows to the Europa League group stage and pushed Manchester United to their limit last Thursday. O'Neill reckons that fans will regret the backlash they dished out to Lennon following the disastrous league campaign, insisting fan perception will change on the former Parkhead skipper and boss.
Speaking at the launch of William Hill’s newly transformed, state-of-the-art shop on Gordon Street, Glasgow O'Neill said: "Ok, that last year at Celtic, it was difficult. I make no apologies for this – I am a fan of his, really am.
"Obviously that starts with what he did for me both at Leicester and Celtic and he has gone on and managed Celtic brilliantly. I personally thought – and this might upset people – that the criticism he received grew arms and legs so quickly.
"And I try and think about it now. I was watching these things from a distance so I am not privy to absolutely everything at the time but I felt as if the ten-in-a row became everything, all consuming. And I was surprised…I know social media can do anything it wants these days, and that’s fine, but I was surprised Celtic fans would be against him.
"And you might tell me that it was only a minority. But the minority grew and grew.
"And I felt for what he had done for the football club both as a player and a manager, I thought it was unfair. Listen, there are different ways at the end of the day – if you don’t win, and ten in a row becomes the holy grail and it doesn’t happen, there are different ways of doing it.
"I just thought it was a bit unfair and that’s from a distance. However, when everything sorts itself out again, I honestly think the Celtic fans will realise he did really well."
When asked if fan perception will change, he said: "Absolutely. And I can’t obviously forget what he did at Leicester City and then obviously I wanted him at Celtic."
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