Neil Lennon has issued a brief statement to explain his departure from Celtic.
Four years after taking over from Tony Mowbray the Irishman has resigned as hoops manager sparking a wealth of speculation about the reasons for resigning and his next move.
In a statement released to the BBC Lennon said: “I have parted company with Celtic. I can’t thank [chief executive] Peter Lawwell and the board enough for their backing and support during my time as manager.
“The club are in a very strong position and I wish the fans and the club all the very best for the future.”
Lennon’s agent, Martin Reilly, added: “Four years is a good spell to be manager of a club like Celtic but now Neil wants to look ahead to the next chapter of his career. He has nothing lined up. He just feels now is the time to move on to the next challenge.”
Lennon has been heavily linked with managing Norwich City since the turn of the year but has batted away speculation by saying that he hasn’t had any contact with any other club.
Whether Norwich, and Championship football, will be his next destination remains to be seen but having seen Chris Hughton undermined from the boardroom and his close pal Paul Lambert quit Carrow Road there are a number of obstacles in the way of a move to Anglia.
West Brom and Spurs currently have managerial vacancies with speculation also surrounding Alan Pardew at Newcastle, Sam Allerdyce at West Ham and Tony Pullis with Crystal Palace.
Despite the chronic sack rate for Premiership managers it’s clear that Lennon feels that he wants to test himself away from Scottish football.
With Lennon’s high standing in the game Celtic will have been considering a successor for some time and will be keen to have a replacement in place for the players returning to pre-season training on June 24.
Jackie McNamara and Malky Mackay are more likely appointments that Henrik Larsson with the new boss charged with steering the club through three Champions League qualifiers which start in mid-July.
Despite the influence of Peter Lawwell management appointments tend to be decided by Dermot Desmond who will have had a better idea than most about Lennon’s intentions.
During his time in charge Lennon won three championships, two Scottish Cup’s and was manager when Rangers went into liquidation ending 124 years of city rivalry.