Celtic job offer topped off one of the best days in Neil Lennon’s life

Neil Lennon last night said Celtic’s offer to make him permanent manager rounded off one of the best days of his life.

The Hoops caretaker boss had just watched his team clinch the treble Treble, a feat unique in Scottish football, and quite probably in world football history.

“I was in the dressing room, covered in champagne, dripping in it, when Dermot Desmond, Peter Lawwell and Tom Allison (the Celtic company secretary) came in,” he said.

“They took me off to one side and we had a five-minute conversation that could be life-changing for me.

“I think that there is a good chance that I will accept the job. The offer means everything to me. It is a privilege, as it was the first time.

“That was nine years ago, I was younger and a bit more robust. Now I have come full circle. I left the club on good terms and I always wanted to come back and manage again.

“It has been hard work, I had a difficult time at Bolton for reasons not within football and then I had a great couple of years at Hibs. I owe them a debt of gratitude for giving me the platform to get back into this position again.

“I never second-guessed anything.

“These guys are class people. I trust them and trust their word and I expected nothing else.

“Obviously, we have had to deal with a lot of speculation and a lot of false news, but they kept me abreast of everything and they were upfront and honest.

“All in all it was probably one of the best days of my life.

“It is hard to quantify what this team has done.

“You will never see it again. They are immortal now. You can’t quantify how difficult that achievement is to pull off.

“In my career winning the treble was the Holy Grail.

“These boys have done it three years consecutively. It is unbelievable.

“Now there’s a busy month ahead. There’s a good core there, lots on long-term contracts, that’s great. There will be personnel leaving and coming in.

“It may be a short holiday.

“There’s a process in work at the minute that we’ve identified some players.

“Hopefully we can get some freshness and quality in the squad as soon as possible.”

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell shared Lennon’s delight and insisted the offer would have been tabled whatever the result.

“Today was a big occasion for him but Neil would still have been the manager, no matter what happened.”

“It has been a fantastic achievement, probably never to be repeated.

“And in our moment of need, Neil stepped up to the plate.

“He’s done a fantastic job in difficult circumstances.

“He’s made for Celtic, he’s a Celtic man, he knows Glasgow, he knows what’s required, and he’s a winner.

“And at this point in terms of looking at the squad, there’s no one I’ve worked with who has a better eye for a player.

“So we’re delighted to announce he’s been offered the job and over the next few days we’ll work out the details.

“I’m sure he’ll be positive but we just need to work out the details.”

There were also some kind words from defeated Hearts manager Craig Levein.

“I’m terribly disappointed to end up on the losing side,” he said.

“I was very proud of the way the players performed, and I feel the pain they feel and the supporters feel,” he said.

“We defended extremely well the whole match, apart from a couple of occasions.

“The difficulty, obviously, is thatwhen you play against opposition who have very good players they tend to punish you.

“But I must congratulate Neil and Celtic. They’ve won the treble three times on the trot and it’s only right to mention that as it’s the first time it’s ever been done, so all credit to them.”