Martin O’Neill’s Leniency Towards Neil Lennon Recalled

Martin O’Neill and Neil Lennon, both formerly associated with Celtic, achieved significant success collaboratively in Scotland. According to Alan Stubbs, Neil Lennon rarely incurred Martin O’Neill’s displeasure. Stubbs recounts an instance where O’Neill, then Celtic’s manager, observed the former captain mimicking him, yet Lennon faced no repercussions. Upon his appointment as manager of the Parkhead club, O’Neill was keen to recruit Lennon, who had previously played under him at Leicester. Their reunion in Glasgow occurred six months later, after which they collectively achieved considerable success, securing three top-flight titles, three Scottish Cups, and one League Cup in Scotland. “Neil was Martin’s lovechild,” former Celtic defender Stubbs stated on the BBC’s Sacked in the Morning podcast. “O’Neill loved Lenny and Lenny could get away with everything. “Lenny used to always do a great impression of Martin. When we were out he’d get a pair of glasses, slide the glasses down his nose and you would actually think it was Martin talking. “There were a couple of times Martin walked in the room and Lenny’s actually been doing it. He’d just give Lenny the look without saying anything.”