NEIL LENNON REMAINS unsure if he will still be in charge of Celtic next season, but he is expecting to fill a coaching role somewhere in 2019-20.
The Northern Irishman, who previously enjoyed four trophy-laden years in charge of the Hoops, returned to Parkhead in February when Brendan Rodgers left for Leicester.
He was handed a short-term deal through to the end of the season and charged with the task of completing a domestic treble.
Celtic have wrapped up an eighth successive Scottish Premiership title and can round their season off in style on Saturday when they take on Hearts in the Scottish Cup final.
That outing could prove to be Lennon’s last at the helm, amid links to the likes of Jose Mourinho and David Moyes, with the 47-year-old unable to speculate on his future beyond admitting that he intends to be working next season.
Lennon told BBC Sport: “I want to manage.
“Take a holiday first and then have a look at things and see what’s there.
“I’ve really enjoyed the last three years being back in Scotland. I’ve had some great success both at Hibs and Celtic.
“I’ve enjoyed it immensely and it’s been really good for me so if it’s not to be Celtic then I’m hoping for a new challenge somewhere else.
“I would love it [if I stayed on at Celtic]. It’s a privileged position, I’ve done it before.”
Lennon claims the thinking of the Celtic board will not be swayed by the outcome of a cup final clash with Hearts, adding: “I’ve been told that already by the hierarchy and I’ve no reason not to believe that.”
A man who spent seven years with the Bhoys as a player believes he could not have done any more to put himself in contention for a full-time appointment.
He has faced criticism at times, but he considers that to have been unfair as he was working with somebody else’s team.
“It’s not my side, it’s Brendan’s and it’s not my style of play, it’s Brendan’s,” Lennon said.
“People saying, ‘well the performances aren’t the same’, well they are.
“If I had gone in there and changed things and it hadn’t worked, then I would’ve been making a huge mistake.
“It was important to get the players over the line, win the league. The training, everything, we kept the same. You’ve got to put the players first. It’s an important piece of the club’s history that they could achieve here.
“Going forward, the style of play I think can be a little bit different. Teams are starting to work out the way we play. We need to be more flexible in our style.
“I was a bit shocked that Brendan had left, just the timing of it, but it’s understandable because it’s a professional decision at the end of the day and he’s back in the Premier League with a great club that I know of.
“When the inevitable happened, then I was ready to ask the question of myself and thought, ‘yeah, I’m going to do this, I want to do this’.”
Gavan Casey is joined by Ryan Bailey and Andy Dunne to look ahead to Saturday’s Pro14 final, look at whether Joey Carbery’s move has paid off and Jack Conan talks about how his body is holding up.:
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