Lennon to be rewarded with new deal

Soccer: Neil Lennon has welcomed the news that he is set for a new contract after clinching his first trophy as Celtic manager…

Soccer: Neil Lennon has welcomed the news that he is set for a new contract after clinching his first trophy as Celtic manager. The Hoops secured a 3-0 win over Motherwell at Hampden today to claim the Scottish Cup less than a week after missing out on the league title to rivals Rangers.

And Lennon — who has been operating on a six-month rolling contract — looks set to have more to celebrate in the weeks ahead after the club’s majority shareholder Dermot Desmond told a radio station he wants the Hoops boss to remain at Celtic “for a very long time”.

Responding to those comments, Lennon said: “I’m pleased. It’s great to hear, although he’s not said that to me yet! He’s been a great supporter. This time last year, after Ross County, he was on the phone to me and gave me great encouragement.

“Throughout the season he has given me a lot of good advice, as has [chief executive] Peter Lawwell and [chairman] John Reid. The support I’ve had from behind the scenes has been fantastic and we will sit down hopefully in the next week or two and see where we go from there.”

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He added: “I love the job, I love the challenge that lies ahead. I’ve had great backing from the board in general. There is a conflict of feelings because we didn’t win the league but there is a lot of satisfaction from the season overall. It’s nice to put a trophy in the cabinet and hopefully we can build on that.”

Although those contract talks have still to take place, Lennon is already clearly planning for the season ahead.

He said: “I didn’t feel any extra pressure going into the game today and I haven’t felt much under pressure at all this season. It might be a bit more next season when the expectation builds but that comes with the territory of being the manager of Celtic.

“We will enjoy tonight and hopefully we will come back better and stronger next year.”