Ex-Hibs boss targets Premiership return as he addresses why rebuild job has more layers than Leith task
The former Hibs and Celtic manager has set his targets after penning a new deal at Championship club Dunfermline Athletic.
Former Hibs and Celtic manager Neil Lennon has revealed his ‘ultimate’ aim after agreeing a new deal with Championship club Dunfermline Athletic.
The former Northern Ireland international took charge at Easter Road between 2016 and 2019 and led Hibs to the Championship title and back into the Premiership during his first 12 months with the club. However, Lennon’s main success came over two spells with Celtic as he helped the Hoops to ten major honours including five Premiership titles and four Scottish Cups.
After leaving Celtic in February 2021, Lennon has taken his managerial career to somewhat surprising destinations after spending time with Cypriot top flight side Omonia Nicosia and Romanian Liga I club Rapid Bucharest. However, after leaving the latter in August last year, Lennon returned to the dugout with Dunfermline after penning a short-term deal at East End Park in March.
Neil Lennon on why he’s signed on at Dunfermline Athletic
After overseeing a successful battle to avoid relegation into League One, Lennon has now penned a two-year deal with the Pars and will kick off the new season with a visit to Hearts in the group stage of the Premier Sports Cup next month. The former Hibs boss has reflected on his decision to sign a new deal after being impressed with Pars owner James Bord and expressed his determination to lead the club back into the Premiership - despite conceding that could prove difficult given the strength of the second tier this season. Then came the comparison to Hibs.
When asked about his return to the club, Lennon said: “Brilliant. Really excited about the whole sort of adventure. Obviously the owner was very impressive with what he has in mind for the club. That was a big sort of point in my thinking about taking the job on. I think there’s work to be done and I think at this stage in my career it’s really good to have something I can really get my teeth into, regarding building the club, player recruitment, building the team to make us far more competitive in the league this year.
Dunfermline Athletic rebuild differences with Hibs
“It’s not like when I took over Hibs, I took over a team that had won the cup, there was a big platform there to build on. This is a different rebuild altogether. There’s a lot more work that needs to be done on it in and around the club facility-wise, but more importantly, the shape of the team and the quality of the player that I want to bring in.
“Ultimately we want to take the club into the Premier League, but whether we can do it in one year remains to be seen. It’s going to be very difficult because of the competition. Two Premier League teams came down, Ross County and St. Johnstone, so that makes the league even more competitive. We want to improve hugely on our consistency from last year and be in and around it. I don’t think the actual premise is you have to get promotion straight away. I think everyone’s realistic about that, but what we want to do is be in and around it from the start of the season until the end.”