NEIL LENNON has taken the time during a pre-match press conference on Friday to pay tribute to the outgoing Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell.
The Celtic manager, who has been hired twice by Lawwell only had good things to say about his boss, unsurprisingly.
The Irishman did admit they’ve had their fallings out over the piece but behind the scenes, Peter has been a giant for the club – fighting our corner and making things happen.
Neil Lennon will also be aware it would have been much easier for the CEO to relieve him of his duties back in October but stuck with the manager, perhaps to a fault.
“He’s been brilliant to work with.
“We’ve had our fall-outs over the piece but he’s been a huge positive influence on my career and many others.
“He’s a huge loss. Every decision he made he thought was best for the club. He was devoted to the club and I think he’ll be a huge miss.
“I was still playing when he came back. Player, coach, manager, we’ve been through a lot together, as well as other managers like Ronnie, Tony and Brendan.
“The success the club has had during his reign is absolutely phenomenal.
“I’m sad to see him go but 17 years is a huge amount of time for a job as pressured as that.
“I can’t speak for fans and how they perceive other people’s record at the club.
“What I do know is that in a very highly-pressurised job he fought a lot of battles for the club, won a lot of battles for the club. On and off the field we’ve made enormous strides in the last 17 years.
“He knew he had to make decisions that wouldn’t be popular but the overriding theory behind it was that it was the best thing for the club at all times.
“There’s no question for me that he always put the club first, whether it be popular with people or not. That’s the strength of the man. A strong leader and a very good presence and influence for everyone around the club.”
Rugby Union chief, Dominic McKay is set to take over in July with the Peter stepping down at the end of June. Neil Lennon will know with a new man coming in and a new structure being implemented, he is highly unlikely to be the Celtic manager next season.
Right now, it appears this current regime is happy to let him play out the rest of the season,
