Neil Lennon has spoken out about how experience has mellowed him in management.
Four frantic seasons in the hot seat at Celtic was worth a decade or more elsewhere as Lennon wrestled the title from Rangers with his old rivals going into meltdown and liquidation.
When he took over from Tony Mowbray the club required a fighter in the dug-out not someone who would look at his shoes, take defeat on the chin and move on with a squad going nowhere in particular.
Lennon stamped his authority on the job challenged the establishment and ended the career of referee Dougie McDonald after the referee was exposed as lying to him after a controversial 2-1 win over Dundee United at Tannadice.
Finally Celtic won the title in 2012 with Lennon overturning a 15 point lead against a squad valued at over £40m by Ally McCoist.
Looking back on those action packed days Lennon said: “When I first got the Celtic job I was very exuberant. I was trying too hard to make an impression. I did things I shouldn’t have done.
“I was very young and in the technical area I was hot-headed and spontaneous. For the last few years I haven’t had a disciplinary problem and I won’t have one here.
“There was no bad language at Birmingham (his first game at Birmingham where he was sent to the stand). I was just out of my technical area and the FA have sent us a letter saying there will be no more action taken.
“I was taken aback when she sent me off and thought: ‘This is not a good way to start’ and could imagine all the people in Scotland saying: ‘Here he goes again….’
“Sometimes in Scotland I played to the image, for my own benefit and my players’ benefit, to have them going out on to the pitch and having me snarling.”
He added: “But you mellow and get experience and that soon goes. There may be a flashpoint here that sparks it off again. I can’t guarantee it won’t happen because I want my players to win and to understand what winning means.
“I like to win and don’t like people getting the better of me. But I’m aware of it, course I am. I had six games in the stand at Celtic and it knocked the stuffing out of me because I couldn’t do my job properly.”
