Neil Lennon’s resignation as manager of Celtic has sparked thousands of words, tributes and emotions as the Irishman ends his active relationship with Celtic.
Lennon without Celtic and Celtic without Lennon is almost unthinkable but that will be the reality next month when the players return for pre-season training before the Champions League qualifiers in July.
Three championships and two Scottish Cup triumph’s barely scratch the surface for a remarkable period which took Celtic fans through every emotion and shone a torch into the darkest areas of Scottish society.
On the park the club was transformed by some fantastic signings that few fans had heard of before they  arrived at Celtic Park. Who wouldn’t fancy the following XI to make a serious impact on the Champions League?
Fraser Forster: Mikel Lustig, Virgil Van Dijk, Charlie Mulgrew, Emilio Izaguirre: Scott Brown, Victor Wanyama, Stefan Johansen, Kris Commons: Gary Hooper, Anthony Stokes.
Lennon’s time as Celtic manager will never be forgotten, there are hundreds of never to be forgotten memories of a man who left unbeaten, unbowed and unrepentant.
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Lennon collected five trophies during his time as manager with the first coming in 2011 following a 3-0 Scottish Cup triumph over Motherwell at Hampden.
Ki Sung Yueng, a joint effort by Mark Wilson and Steven Craigan and a stunning free kick from Charlie Mulgrew gave Celtic their first trophy in two years and set Lennon off and running.
The highlight of the Scottish Cup campaign was without doubt a replay win over Rangers (IL) at Celtic Park which was quickly dubbed the shame game after three Rangers (IL) players were sent off.
In the first match at Ibrox, despite being down to ten men after Fraser Forster was sent off, Celtic outplayed the hosts to earn a well deserved draw thanks to a highly celebrated goal from Scott Brown.
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Lennon’s final title was clinched in a 5-1 win over Partick Thistle at Firhill which showed signs of a new team coming together.
Seventeen-year-old Liam Henderson scored his first senior goal with stellar performances from Kris Commons, Anthony Stokes and Stefan Johansen ensuring that the league was won in style.
Matching Willie Maley, Jock Stein and Gordon Strachan as the only managers to have won three consecutive titles meant a lot to Lennon as he illustrated in the picture above.
A season that could have been viewed as transitional due to the departures of Gary Hooper, Victor Wanyama and Joe Ledley saw the title secured in March with Henderson, van Dijk, Johansen and Griffiths all enjoying their first title success at the club.
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Rugby Park will always be a place that Lennon looks on with affection after winning three titles at the Ayrshire ground- twice as a player and his first as a manager.
Trailing 3-0 to Kilmarnock at half-time in October 2011 Lennon was 45 minutes away from resigning but a spirited fightback earned a draw and a stay of execution.
The following month Celtic played Motherwell at Fir Park trailing Ally McCoist’s league leaders by 15 points but despite losing an early goal Lennon’s men won 2-1 as they stripped away the gap at the top, overtaking the Ibrox men before the new year with a memorable 1-0 derby win on home soil.
By the time that Celtic returned to Kilmarnock it was for a title party as the hoops an out 6-0 winners on a day that the Celtic family celebrated worldwide.
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Ibrox was a happy hunting ground for Lennon with a 2-0 win over Walter Smith’s side in December 2010 proving a turning point as Daniel Majstorovic, Beram Kayal, Joe Ledley and Charlie Mulgrew blossomed into Celtic players.
As a player at Ibrox Martin O’Neill had taken Lennon to the Celtic support with a defiant clenched fist salute with Lennon the manager cupping his ears to the home support as they poured out their bile/banter at the same time as the hoops boss was receiving bullets and bombs through the post.
To no-one’s surprise Lennon was accused of inflaming the situation by his ear cupping gesture but only those that have been in his shoes could pass any sort of judgement.
Without doubt Lennon reveled in the intensity of the derby fixture, finding that extra dimension as a player and additional inspiration as a manager to impact on his players what the fixture meant to supporters.
On one occasion he was sent from the dug-out but unable to watch the second half safely from the directors box, choosing instead to watch his team playing from the media room.
While sharing many great memories of the place not visiting Ibrox will be one of many bonuses for Lennon in his future career.
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The final day of the 2010/11 season is a never to be forgotten moment at Celtic Park.
With Rangers (IL) in desperate need of a Champions League place honest mistakes had gone off the radar but despite that Celtic had taken the league race to the final day of the season.
Any hopes of a dramatic turnaround on the final day were quickly ended as Kilmarnock, including Cameron Bell and Dean Shiels, found themselves trailing Rangers by 4-0 within five minutes of the kick-off at Rugby Park.
Celtic beat Motherwell 4-0 but having failed to win the title Lennon had succeeded in bringing back the thunder as the hoops fans celebrated a new sense of togetherness ahead of the following week’s Scottish Cup Final.
Despite his own tribulations throughout the season, after the match Lennon told the Celtic support ‘this isn’t the end it’s only the beginning’.
Three championships later he left the manager’s office.
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One of the finest, and most satisfying, performances of Lennon’s reign was the 3-0 win over Rangers (IL) in the final ever derby match between the two clubs.
Having overcome a 15 point deficit to take the title from Ally McCoist’s side Celtic Park was in full flow as the fans celebrated the title success and the imminent liquidation of their former rivals.
All around the stadium those twin achievements were displayed with the Green Brigade unfurling an awesome banner as the two teams came out.
Charlie Mulgrew got the party in full flow with a brilliantly timed header to open the scoring before Kris Commons chipped in with his first goal of the season.
Celtic were dominant throughout but the final goal of the day came from Gary Hooper with the second half played out to incredible scenes of jubilation around the ground.
Lennon was forced to watch the match from the directors box where his viewing was distracted at times by one of the finest hairstyles ever to visit Celtic Park.
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Lennon’s greatest success as Celtic manager was in the Chamions League with the 2012/13 campaign containing 12 memorable matches- which have created the modern benchmark for the club.
From Helsinki to Turin the hoops dared to dream about a final place at Wembley via memorable stops in Moscow, Barcelona and Lisbon.
A 2-0 win away to Helsingborgs provided evidence that this team could win away from home in Europe with a home win over the Swedes ensuring a return to the group stage.
After a 0-0 draw at home to Benfica reality set in but an inspiring away win against Spartak Moscow provided optimism that a place in the Europa League could be secured.
Back-to-back games against Barcelona provided the high point of Lennon’s reign with the heart-break of a late defeat in the Nou Camp more than compensated for with a thrilling home win featuring goals from Tony Watt and Victor Wanyama.
A penalty from Kris Commons in the 2-1 home win over Spartak Moscow clinched second place before the hoops lost out in the last 16 to an all-in wrestling team from Turin.
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Shakhtar Karagandy aren’t likely to feature in any who’s who of European football but the Kazakstan champions provided Celtic with one of their most dramatic European nights.
A new look defensive partnership of Virgil van Dijk and Steve Mouyokolo tumbled to a 2-0 defeat on the plastic pitch of the Kazak champions.
The return leg wasn’t going to plan but just before half-time a 25 yarder from Kris Commons ignited the tie with Georgios Samaras levelling the aggregate scores early in the second period.
Extra time seemed a certainty until Anthony Stokes weaved into the box to tee up James Forrest for a golden strike that earned Celtic £20m and sent Lennon on a memorable jig down the touchline.
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Lennon’s success as a manager came at a price- his private life.
The Irishman had already experienced Scotland’s shame as a player but managing Celtic increased the level of hatred among those that can’t handle the thought of a successful Irish catholic challenging Rangers (IL).
Midway through his first season Lennon had to deal with bullets and bombs in the post while being forced to move home on a regular basis with panic buttons installed wherever he lived.
Any notions that it was a west of Scotland issue were killed off when Hearts fan John Wilson assaulted the Celtic boss on the touchline at Tynecastle before being led away to the cheers of the home supporters.
Numerous individuals were charged by the police for online offences with the character below typical of the species that reckon hatred and threats to Lennon can be passed off as banter and fun rivalry.
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In his final match Lennon led Celtic to a 3-1 victory over Dundee United as the hoops picked up the 2013/14 title.
After a tame first half Lennon’s men turned on the style after the break with Anthony Stokes breaking the deadlock before further goals from Georgios Samaras and Kris Commons.
For the last ten minutes of the match the Celtic support stood up for the champions with a short break for a celebration huddle.
At the final whistle the players celebrated with the management team with only a few in the know that it was Lennon’s last match as manager.
Accompanied by his son Gallagher he took the acclaim of the fans on a lap of honour dropping no hint that he was about to depart the scene.
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Before becoming Celtic manager Lennon had played his part in six title successes- three under Martin O’Neill and three with Gordon Strachan.
Arriving at the club in December 2000 he formed a great partnership with Paul Lambert as O’Neill’s side won the 2000/01, 2001/02 and 2003/04 SPL titles.
When Strachan took over from O’Neill Lennon was made captain helping the new manager to two titles on the park before returning to the club as a coach in the dramatic final days of the 2007/08 season.
A home defeat from Motherwell was hardly the most welcome of returns but after seven straight wins, including two home wins over Rangers (IL) the title was won at Tannadice the day after the funeral of Tommy Burns.
When Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink headed in the decisive goal of the match Lennon jumped into the air higher than anyone before playing a full part in the after match celebrations.