Celtic: Neil Lennon makes Ange Postecoglou declaration

Ange Postecoglou was the man who steadied the Celtic ship after the disaster that was the 2020/21 campaign under the management of Neil Lennon. The Northern Irishman had stepped down in February but by then the season was as good as over for the Hoops, as they finished trophyless and finished 25 points behind the Rangers, seeing their 10IAR hopes go up in smoke.

Unsurprisingly, Lennon’s last season in charge of Celtic left a bitter taste in the mouths of the fans. The decision to appoint him as the successor to Brendan Rodgers was never a welcome decision in the first place and despite his successes at the club, both as a player and as a manager, he is not a popular figure amongst the supporters these days.

Despite all the critics of his abilities as a manager, one thing that nobody can take away from Lennon though is the substantial success that he enjoyed. And one of them includes guiding Celtic to the last 16 of the Champions League.

Thus, Lennon knows what it is like to manage in Europe’s elite competition and he believes that the experience will make Postecoglou a better manager. As reported by The Scottish Sun, the former Celtic player and manager said:

"“I think the criticism is a little bit too much. Celtic haven’t been in the Champions League group stage since Brendan Rodgers five years ago, so they are novices. They are rebuilding.“They were very unlucky not to beat Leipzig and Shakhtar.“The performances have been good — just not the results.“Ange will get better for this. He will feel he’s a much better manager for the experience.”"

Lennon makes Postecoglou declaration amidst Celtic’s struggles to get results in the Champions League

Celtic have a number of players who played Champions League football for the first time in their careers. At the same time, one must also remember that it was Postecoglou’s first taste of that level as well. Thus, one can expect this experience to make them better as a whole.

On the other hand, Lennon finds himself in trouble once again, as he was recently sacked by Omonia Nicosia.

The decision came as a bit of a shock actually as they had had two very good performances against Manchester United and were barely edged out on both occasions. And last season, the Northern Irishman had delivered the Cypriot Cup.