I, for one, think he can do it http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2129542/Lennon-I-plan-win-Champions-League-Celtic.html "Neil Lennon has set his sights on winning the Champions League as manager of Celtic. In a bold declaration of personal ambition, the Northern Irishman admitted he may never win European football's most coveted trophy. please log in to view this image Pondering the future: Neil Lennon revealed he is targeting a Champions League triumph But, with Rangers crippled by their financial plight, he believes Celtic now have an opportunity to assert themselves as mainstays in the Champions League and pursue his managerial dream. please log in to view this image After narrowly failing to capture the 2003 UEFA Cup as a Parkhead player, Lennon laid claim to his first SPL title as manager last weekend. And as he prepared for Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final with Hearts at Hampden, the 40-year-old said: 'My ambition is to win the Champions League. Here, anywhere, that is my ambition. I never reached those heights as a player and I may not reach those heights as a manager, but that's my ambition. 'Is it possible to win it here? Definitely. It might not be done in a year or two years' time.'But, if we can consistently get in the Champions League and gain the revenue from that, then I think we can build a team that could challenge.'Citing other young managers who established themselves against all the odds, Lennon uses Jose Mourinho - who led Porto to two European trophies - as his inspiration. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Lennon's fab four: (Clockwise) Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Martin O'Neill and Brian Clough 'I'm not a Mourinho, but I want to be,' he asserted. 'I want to be a (Pep) Guardiola, I want to be a (Brian) Clough, I want to be an (Martin) O'Neill.'That's my ambition, there is no point in taking this job on if you are going to fail.' Refusing to acknowledge publicly that Rangers could be hampered for the next two or three years, Lennon insisted he is concentrating only on his team. 'Whether Rangers are going to struggle or not is theoretical,' he said. 'We have to go out and win the league year in, year out. I'm sure we will begin the championship next season as big favourites. 'With that comes pressure and we must be able to handle that. I can't look too far into the future in terms of what might be.'But I always think if you are in a position to strengthen with the right money and the right player, within the budget of the club, then you should do that.' Lennon will hold meetings with Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell in the coming weeks, to lay down plans for next season. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Set to leave: Daniel Majstorovic (left) and Glenn Loovens (right) With Daniel Majstorovic and Glenn Loovens poised to leave and Gary Hooper and Ki Sung Yueng wanted elsewhere, there could be four new players in addition to pre-contract capture Radoslaw Fojut. Promising a thorough review of another tumultuous season on and off the park, Lennon added: 'I'll go to the board with that and with Peter Lawwell, as well. I'll speak to my backroom staff and look at the season in blocks of three or four. 'We'll also look at the pre-season programme in terms of getting it right for Europe. That will be essential to how our season goes next year. Then there's the personal stuff. You put on a brave face but, sometimes, it's very disconcerting.'"
I reckon Scottish clubs will be thrown out of Yoorup. The Lurgan bigot is making all the right noises anyway. I had thought of him as a bit of a puppet of the board. I don't know if that perception is right or wrong, or even if it is any impediment to him driving the club forward. If he bought into the vision that came from above, or even if he helped set that agenda then he's not going to get that position anywhere else. Lawwell is a knob head, but I don't doubt his ability. If they all pull in the same direction, then why not aim for the stars. I am reading things differently now. I could have been wrong then and I could be wrong now. It is just how I see it.
A bold statement by lennon....though perhaps foolhardy would be more accurate. Fair enough, make the point you want to get into the champions league in a number of consecutive seasons and hope to use that to build toward going further each year.......but win the champions league...well, maybe if 11 henrik larssons fell into our laps and the regular contenders had some kind of rangersesque meltdown....no, not even then. This, I think , is just a means of getting the board to think of speulating to accumulate as a run in europe should be something we can depend upon over the next few seasons ( in theory anyway ). This is the kind of rash statement which will be used against lennon, and if his ambition is to be up there with the great managers one day , then he needs to curb these impulses. I , for one, think he`s got no chance.
As much as I don't like the ****, there is nothing wrong with what he has said and as Rebel stated, it puts a bit of pressure on the biscuit tin men to spend some money.
If he does win Ol' Big Ears, then I hope he doesn't spoil his legacy by allowing the systematic rape and buggery of children.
Nothing wrong with aiming high I suppose but even an optimistic soul like me thinks this is a bit over the top.
Come on to **** it's only football. I know it can be irritating listening to them bleat on about money and liquidation in a completely sanctimonious fashion, but we should be used to that by now. It's what Celtic does best. Comments like that are completely demeaning to victims of abuse. Rise above it big Jock. If Lennon gets past the qualifying stages it will be a miracle in itself. As others have said there is nothing wrong with him coming out with that though its his job to do so.
Craig ****in' Burley: FOR THE umpteenth time this season Neil Lennon’s comments have me bewildered and shaking my head in disbelief. His assertion that he can win the Champions League with Celtic was plastered all over the back pages yesterday morning. Do me a favour. What he should have said was that considering Celtic haven’t reached the group stages of that tournament since 2008, it would be a fine achievement just to get past the qualifying rounds and into the Champions League proper this time around. I’d have been in agreement with every word of that. But the Celtic gaffer’s game is to appeal to the masses, say what a lot of fans want to hear and those with tunnel vision buy into it. The comments came hot on the heels of Lennon’s remarks that he felt able to take his place alongside Jock Stein after winning his first championship. He isn’t ready to do that. Not by a long, long way. Those comments were misguided and lacked class. At Rugby Park last week he also thanked the fans for their backing and said they weren’t just a support, they were a part of the Celtic family. I almost choked when he said that. Listen, you’re only part of the family when you are able to make a contribution. When you are no longer doing that you are booed by the fans and booted out by the club. You become disposable very quickly. You are a commodity, an employee. Family? Nonsense. Just ask Tony Mowbray. Tony Cascarino. Even Lennon. Lennon was booed by some Celtic fans during the UEFA Cup semi-final against Boavista at Celtic Park. Martin O’Neill blasted the fans for it. Lennon’s dad stopped going to games because he was sickened by the way his son was treated. I helped play my part in stopping Rangers winning the title in 1998. Stopped 10-in-a-row. Preserved a piece of history for the club. I’d been down in England for a decade before I signed for Celtic in 1997. I was totally detached from Scottish football and couldn’t have told you if we were trying to stop nine-in-a-row, 10-in-a-row or 29-in-a-row. We lost our first two league games and the fans wanted Wim Jansen out the door and many made it clear to me I could f*** off back to Chelsea. The pressure on the players was unbelievable. Fans constantly begged us to make sure we stopped Rangers. It was as though their lives depended on it. We dug in and won the league. That season I was voted Player of the Year by Celtic Supporters’ Clubs all around the world and also won the award given by the sports writers. I’m sure now some Celtic fans would like to imagine I never played my part in that success. I’ll never erase it from my mind. It’s in my memory bank and will never be taken away from me. Quite a number of them made their feelings clear when they aimed a string of verbal obscenities at me at Rugby Park last weekend. All because Lennon had a go at me after Celtic drew 1-1 up at Aberdeen last month. I said that day the title was devalued because Rangers were on their knees and other clubs didn’t have two coins to rub together. I said that made it a bit hollow and unfortunate. However, I did point out that Celtic were worthy winners. That, however, appears to have been lost along the way I can only imagine Lennon didn’t hear my comments properly because if he did then he wouldn’t have been offended. But he blasted me and the sycophantic fans have jumped on the bandwagon. I don’t regret my comments. I’m not paid to be liked. I’m paid to give an honest opinion. Other pundits bore you to tears with propaganda and they should be ashamed of themselves. Lennon, of course, has every right to feel proud at winning the SPL. He’s every right to enjoy this title success. He has built the best team in the country and they play the best football. They are deserved champions. But he would do well to stop the ludicrous comments. I’m certainly not fooled by them.
