Paul Lambert backs Neil Lennon’s departure

Paul Lambert reckons Lennon is right to want to follow him south.

Paul Lambert nearly lost control of his car when he heard the bombshell news of Neil Lennon’s departure from Celtic.

In fact, the Aston Villa manager has revealed it wasn’t until he heard it straight from the horse’s mouth that he took it as gospel.

The revelations immediately provoked a stampede of managers looking to land the prestigious post at Parkhead.

Lambert is just one of many managers who have been linked with the vacant position since it became available on Thursday morning.

But that isn’t something he would consider at this stage of his managerial career.

Unlike the other names being touted as potential successors, the former Scotland and Celtic captain already holds down an English Premier League post the sort of job Lennon has left Celtic to try and secure.

Malky Mackay remains out of work after being axed by Cardiff City and Owen Coyle, who knocked back the job previously, hasn’t worked since being sacked by Wigan and needs to rebuild his reputation.

David Moyes and Stevie Clarke are another two unemployed managers featuring in the betting, as is club legend Henrik Larsson and ex-Hoops star and current Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara.

As Lambert says: “There won’t be a shortage of interest in the position, that’s for sure.

“I can fully understand why ‘Lenny’ would want to land a job down in England because it is the place to be, as I can testify.

“The English Premier League is the best in the world as far as I am concerned, and I’m relishing the challenge I have at Aston Villa in trying to improve the team and lead the club forward.

“But the manager’s job at Celtic is also a fantastic and privileged position. So there will be a massive queue of people banging on the door looking for that one.”

Lambert has either played with or managed against almost all the names currently in the frame to succeed Lennon.

There is, of course, the possibility an appointment from left field could catch everyone off guard, although there hasn’t been a foreign manager of the Hoops since Dr Jozef Venglos took over in 1998.

Lambert was actually signed by Wim Jansen the previous summer, and also played under Venglos before enjoying huge success under Martin O’Neill. So he didn’t work under a Scottish manager throughout his time at Celtic.

He continues: “I’m not going to say who I think the Celtic Board should appoint as manager because it has nothing whatsoever to do with me.

“The people responsible have an important decision to make and they will go for the person they believe is the right man to take the club forward. There will be a lot of factors for them to consider.

“Do they try and go for someone similar to ‘Lenny’, who knows the club inside out, or do they go for someone with no connection whatsoever to the club.

“Ultimately, it will come down to who they believe is best equipped to deliver success, so it will be interesting to see who is appointed.”

The one thing Lambert is convinced of is that the new man will have his work cut out to emulate what Lennon achieved during his four-year stint in the hot-seat.

The Irishman has just led the club to a third successive title success, and steered his team into the group stage of the Champions League in the last two seasons reaching the last 16 in 2012-13.

But it was Lennon’s ability to do all that whilst being forced to sell his best players that impressed Lambert the most.

He says: “Celtic have made massive profits out of some of the players Neil signed for the club.

“He’s shown he has a great eye for a player, and another important factor is he can make players better from working with them on the training ground every day.

“I don’t see a great deal of Celtic unless their game is on the TV, but there are players I watch who have definitely improved from working under him.

“He’s won three successive League titles but qualifying for the Champions League has been crucial, both financially and in terms of generating excitement.

“I’m sure Neil will tell you he is a much better manager now than the one who took over the club four years ago.

“But I’d also say Celtic are in a much stronger position now than they were back then as well, so things have worked out very well for both parties.”

As much as a parting of the ways has been on the cards, Lambert still says his pal’s exit did catch him cold.

“I was driving back up to Scotland and heard the news on the radio, and it came as a bolt from the blue,” said Lambert.

“I’m in fairly regular contact with ‘Lenny’ but it came as a complete shock. I certainly didn’t see it coming.

“Actually, I wasn’t sure whether to believe the news or not. I wasn’t sure if the media reports were wide of the mark.

“So I picked up the phone and gave him a call and he confirmed he thought now was the right time for him to move on.

“I wished him all the best and I’m sure it won’t be long before he is back in work.”