Soccer: Celtic manager Neil Lennon backed a recent plan to bring Gordon Strachan back to Parkhead in a deal that was "pretty close" to being agreed.

Strachan managed the Hoops from 2005 to 2009 and was approached by the Scottish Premier League club in September to join as a mentor to Lennon, according to BBC Sport.

While the deal fell though, former Celtic captain Lennon admitted he supported the move.

"Gordon is someone I respect totally and he wasn't averse to the idea but it never materialised," Lennon told Sportsound. "It was an idea that we've bounced around for quite a while. We were pretty close to it.

"But it was almost eight weeks ago now that the decision was made, and we've moved on since then. It is something that I'm not averse to, depending on who it is and whether the circumstances are right and whether we feel we need it."

Lennon, who was appointed manager of Celtic on a full-time basis last year after a spell in caretaker charge, believes there might not be a need to bring in a more experienced pair of hands as he grows into the role.

He added: "The longer I go on in the job the less likely that scenario becomes."