Returning Celtic boss Neil Lennon vows to stick with winning formula after Brendan Rodgers departure

Neil Lennon has vowed to stick by the winning formula drawn up by Brendan Rodgers before his sudden Celtic departure.

On a day of stunning change at Parkhead, Lennon returned for a second spell as boss after Scotland’s champions gave Rodgers the green light to sign a three-year contract with Leicester.

Celtic will receive £5million in compensation after the former Liverpool manager claimed he’d taken the club ‘as far as I could’.

Neil Lennon last night vowed to stick by the winning formula drawn up by Brendan Rodgers

Lennon will now take the team for Wednesday night’s Premiership clash with Hearts at Tynecastle having agreed a deal until the end of the season – with a view to a permanent appointment in the summer.

The 47-year-old, having already enjoyed major success as a Parkhead player, was manager for the first three of Celtic’s current run of seven successive titles and returns to Glasgow’s east end weeks after he left Hibs in acrimonious circumstances.

‘I didn’t realise it was going to come so quickly,’ said Lennon last night. ‘But when an opportunity like this comes, you can’t say no.

‘I am very grateful to the board, Dermot (Desmond) and Peter (Lawwell) for showing this amount of faith in me and I want to repay that faith.

Lennon returned after Scotland’s champions gave Rodgers the green light to join Leicester

‘There is always huge expectation at this club and the players have been absolutely exceptional over the last two or three years with the level of performance and wins and trophy haul they have brought in, and all I want to do is carry that on. 

‘It’s not broken, I’m not coming in to revolutionise anything.’ 

First-team coach John Kennedy and reserve coach Damien Duff will be Lennon’s new assistants after Chris Davies, Kolo Toure and sports scientist Glen Driscoll followed Rodgers to Leicester.

‘I’m going to lean on John Kennedy a lot,’ Lennon told Celtic TV. ‘He’s been with Brendan the last two-and-a-half years and knows how it works.

‘He knows the system and routine and I will be tapping into that a lot.

‘Obviously I know the club, but I have been away for four or five years and don’t know the inside machinations of the way things are. And getting to know the players. I know some of them but don’t know others, but a few days is hopefully all I will need to adjust and all the players will need to adjust to me.

‘But there won’t be sweeping changes, that’s for sure.

‘It’s a stellar squad and since the turn of the year they’ve been magnificent. They were so unlucky in Valencia as well.

Lennon will take the reins as the the Hoops head to Tynecastle to face Hearts on Wednedsday

‘They are in great form and I don’t want this disrupting that flow. They have a job to do, the players know what’s at stake – eyes on the prize – and I’m just here to help them along with that.’ 

Lennon will be unveiled on Wednesday morning before taking the helm for Wednesday night’s trip to Tynecastle followed by a mouthwatering return to Easter Road to face Hibs in Saturday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final.

With a grin, he added: ‘Tough games, but this is the business end of the season and looking at the mentality of the players, they look really focused.

‘Whether this disrupts them a little bit? I have to manage that for them and make sure they stay focused.

‘It’s not about me coming back, it’s not about Brendan leaving, it’s about Celtic winning the league and hopefully another cup as well.

‘I will do all I can to bring success to the football club and give them the style of football they were accustomed to under the previous manager. Hopefully they will walk with me.’ 

Having claimed on a number of occasions that Celtic was his ‘dream job’, Rodgers’ decision to quit midway through the club’s bid for a historic treble Treble prompted accusations of betrayal from fans.

‘I was certainly in no hurry to leave Celtic,’ claimed Rodgers before arriving at the King Power Stadium to watch his new team beat Brighton 2-1. ‘Celtic is a club that’s huge worldwide, a renowned club, and I loved working with the players there.

Lennon made over 200 appearances for the Glasgow club between 2000 and 2007

‘We were on a journey of great success over these last years but when the opportunity came to talk to Leicester and I was able to analyse it, it allowed me to think I’d probably achieved and taken the club maybe as far as I could at this moment.

‘The opportunity to speak with Leicester and find out their ambitions and where we can grow the club and the training facility. Of course, the big attraction for me is working with the players.’ 

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell tried to allay talk of a rift between Rodgers and the board by paying tribute to the outgoing manager.

‘Brendan is a football manager of the highest quality and we are very disappointed to see him leave the club,’ he said. 

‘This is an opportunity he wished to pursue and that is something we have to respect. 

‘He gave the club so much and has created so many wonderful memories for the club and our supporters. His achievements are historic.

‘He has dominated Scottish football and ensured that Celtic has enjoyed unprecedented domestic success.

‘In bringing Neil back to the club until the end of the season, we have appointed a man who knows what it means to be Celtic manager and someone who knows how to win.’