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Neil Lennon looks set to take Celtic job

"It has been a roller coaster couple of months. It has been difficult but I hope I can bring a lot more success going forward."

Neil Lennon has been offered the Celtic job on a permanent basis after beating  Hearts in the Scottish Cup final.
Image: Celtic beat Hearts 2-1 to win the Scottish Cup on Saturday

Neil Lennon says he hopes to bring success to Celtic "going forward" after being offered the permanent manager's role.

Lennon, the interim manager of Celtic, was offered the role shortly after Odsonne Edouard's double helped them beat Hearts 2-1 to win the Scottish Cup at Hampden Park on Saturday.

"It's a privilege - it has been my privilege to manage this club once, but to do it a second time, I feel like I have come full circle," said Lennon, who replaced Brendan Rodgers on a caretaker basis in February.

"It was always an objective. I left the club on good terms last time and nothing has changed.

"It has been a roller coaster couple of months. It has been difficult but I hope I can bring a lot more success going forward."

'There was no one better for the job'

Celtic's chief executive Peter Lawwell said Lennon "would have been manager regardless of what happened" in the Scottish Cup final after he "stepped up" in their "moment of need", adding that "there was no one better" for the job.

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Scott Brown reacts to the news Lennon has been offered the Celtic job

Lawwell said: "I am delighted to announce that after today's events we have offered Neil Lennon the job to be the permanent Celtic manager.

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"We've communicated this to him just 10 minutes ago. We wanted to wait until the end of the season, to show him respect and to give him clarity and focus on winning the treble.

"It's been a fantastic day and a fantastic achievement probably never to be repeated.

"His credentials (prove) he is a Celtic man, he was made for Celtic. He knows the city of Glasgow and he is a winner.

"At this point, looking at our squad, there is nobody that I have worked with that has a better eye for a player.

"Over the next few days we will work out the details. We did this today in order to kill speculation for our supporters."

'Phenomenal Lennon is a winner' - Brown

Scott Brown, the Celtic captain, worked with Lennon during his first spell as Hoops manager and has welcomed the move to bring him back to the club on a permanent basis.

"He was phenomenal for me the first time and he will be phenomenal for the lads [here now]," said Brown. "They'll learn a lot from him because he is a winner. He wants to win trophies and he is in the right place for that.

"There's a lot of recruitment to do. He'll bring in quality players - he's done that in the past, he has brought in Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dijk and stuff like that. He's got a great eye for a player and I'm sure he'll do it again."

Rogic and Forrest back Lennon for role

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Tom Rogic and James Forrest give Neil Lennon their backing for the permanent Celtic manager's job during their treble-treble open-top bus parade.

Celtic's Player of the Year James Forrest and Tom Rogic both put their support behind Lennon for the permanent job during the club's open-top bus parade on Saturday.

"He is someone that loves the club, he's been successful as a player and a manager here," said Rogic.

"That says a lot. It's great news for everyone involved. A bright future ahead."

"Everyone involved with the club will be buzzing with that," said Forrest. "Hopefully we can go on and win some more trophies."

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