IN the pre-transfer window days, players could move between clubs at any point in the season and Neil Lennon did just that nearly 19 years ago when he joined Celtic from Leicester City on December 8, 2000.
Just two days later, he made his Hoops debut, helping his new team to a 2-1 win over Dundee at Dens Park. And then, just 12 days after joining his boyhood heroes, he sat down with the Celtic View for the first of countless interviews with the club magazine.
The Irishman was the main interview in the Christmas issue of the View that year (December 20), and in this week’s If View Know The History feature, we revisit that first interview of the man who is the current Celtic manager…
SPENDING Christmas and New Year alone in a hotel room is not a prospect most people would relish; Neil Lennon is no different.
However, add that you are doing so because you have just signed for Celtic and the blow is softened somewhat; again, Lennon is no different...
For, although he is now subject to the occasionally smothering attentions of the Glasgow public, having arrived amid a media frenzy, he has accepted the hype with a shrug of the shoulders and a faint smile. In part, that is because Lennon is, in short, a good guy.
He’s the way you would like to see yourself were you ever to become a Celtic player, a man whose amiable demeanour will endear him to those he meets.
But it’s the Lurgan-born midfielder’s genuine and unquenchable desire to become a Celtic success story that gives him a philosophical outlook on the traditional downside to life in the Hoops.
Sure it’s early days, but being a Celtic star is not a novelty that will easily wear off on the Northern Ireland internationalist.
Denne historien er fra Vol 55 Issue 10-utgaven av Celtic View.
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Denne historien er fra Vol 55 Issue 10-utgaven av Celtic View.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED...
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TOMMY BHOY
Celtic legend was a supporter first, last and always
WOUNDED PRIDE
Christopher Jullien was a frustrated spectator as he recovered from injury, but now that he’s back, he’s determined to play his part along with his team-mates to get back to winning ways
ON THIS DAY
HISTORY OF PLAYERS
KEEP THE FAITH
Manager knows hard work can and will deliver an upturn in fortunes for his Celtic side
THE LAST WORD
NEXT week the Christmas edition of the Celtic View will be out, which means this will be the last column I write in 2020.
FOUNDATION CHRISTMAS APPEAL SPOTLIGHT: THE INVISIBLES
WE continue our spotlight series on the organisations we hope to support through this year’s Celtic FC Foundation Christmas Appeal, with a closer look at the work of The Invisibles, a Glasgow-based voluntary organisation, which aims to provide comfort to those living on the city’s streets.
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Danny Crainie was proud to wear the Hoops and he continues to back the team as a supporter
EVERYONE IS HURTING AT THE RUN WE'RE ON
IT was a disconsolate home dressing room at Celtic on Sunday, as the team reflected on their first domestic cup defeat in over four years.
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The View wants YOUR views on the Hoops’ remarkable decade of dominance