A favourite among Celtic supporters, Gordon Strachan won three titles in a four-year spell as Parkhead boss.

The 67-year-old masterminded a period of domestic dominance during the late 2000s and continued on Martin O’Neill’s legacy of making the Hoops compete in Europe.

Strachan won six major honours as Celtic manager and for four of them, he had Neil Lennon as his captain.

The Irishman went on to have prosperous spells as Hoops manager himself but as a player, he was equally as successful.

Lennon was part of the Seville team and moulded into a key member of the squad over his seven years playing for the champions.

Eventually, though, the time came for the midfielder to hang up his boots. And when he informed Strachan that he felt he wasn’t at the required level to play for Celtic any more, the boss reacted as typically as expected.

“I remember going to see Gordon in my last year at Celtic”, said Lennon (PLZ Soccer via The Scottish Sun).

“I didn’t want to become a bit-part player.

“So I went in to see him and I said ‘Gaffer, I think my time’s up here.’

“And he went, ‘Yip!’

“It wasn’t like he was going to talk me out of it, he was like ‘No, I think you’re right Lenny.’

“But he was brilliant about it. We had a right laugh.”

After leaving Celtic in 2007, Lennon went on to have brief spells at Nottingham Forest and Wycombe Wanderers before retiring in the summer of 2008.

He then enjoyed two separate spells in charge of the Bhoys, winning ten major honours along the way.