Chris Sutton has warned the Celtic board that Neil Lennon won’t take over as permanent manager if he isn’t promised sufficient funds to rebuild the team.
After almost two months as caretaker Lennon remains on target for a Treble Treble with barely a slip up on the park or word said out of place despite the media frenzy over his job prospects.
Speculation about Roberto Martinez, Rafa Benitez and Andres Villas-Boas seem to have been dismissed over budget matters with a serious rebuild needed in the summer.
Three defenders and one striker would be the absolute minimum requirements to get Celtic into the group stages of the Champions League and reassert their dominance in Scotland.
Lennon isn’t likely to make the same demands as former EPL managers but Sutton believes that his former team-mate will only take the job on if he is given funding to do the job properly.
In the Daily Record Sutton claims:
Everyone thinks he will just jump at the chance to be the next boss and is walking around day on day waiting for the call from the hierarchy to confirm him in the post to succeed to Brendan Rodgers.
If he is, it’s not the Neil Lennon I know. And I believe there is much more to this than Celtic just snapping their fingers and he comes running.
No one is a bigger Celtic fan than him. He is desperate for the club to do well and there was not a chance that he would leave them in the lurch when Rodgers went running off to Leicester City.
Celtic were in big trouble at a critical stage of their season and Neil wasn’t going to say no. He wouldn’t let the club down in that situation.
His eyes were wide open at the environment he was walking into and so far he’s done a superb job in steadying the ship and ensuring it has sailed along the same successful path as before.
Neil was bright enough not to start making wholesale changes. Not to start altering the workings of the group. He’s shrewd and knew that the best thing to do was to let it continue.
It’s that intelligence and grasp of situations which allowed him to see the bigger picture.
However, it’s those smart traits which also mean he’ll be fully aware of what the situation is right now at Parkhead and he can see exactly how the club is placed going forward.
Celtic need a massive rebuild. He’s said it himself in public and he’ll have said it to Desmond and Lawwell.
It’s going to take big backing and major moves in the transfer market this summer looking ahead to next season and the Neil I know isn’t going to be anyone’s patsy.
Since announcing Lennon as caretaker manager at the end of February there has been no comment from the Celtic board on the management position.
After a run of three matches Jozo is a big doubt for tomorrowhttps://t.co/TI45qefywH
— Joe McHugh (@videocelts) April 20, 2019
