Neil Lennon has been sacked by Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia after seven months in charge, club announced the news soon defeat by Nea Salamis.
Neil Lennon : Has been sacked | why did leave Celtic
Lennon was born in Lurgan, County Armagh and attended St Michael’s Grammar School in the town.
As a youngster he played gaelic football for the school and was also selected for the Armagh minor team.
He grew up supporting Celtic and played football for the local Lurgan Celtic youth team.
He made his international debut for Northern Ireland on 11 June 1994 when he come on as a substitute in a friendly against Mexico in Miami and had to wait nearly a year for his next cap when he played against Chile in another friendly.
Lennon made his first competitive appearance three months later on 3 September 1995 in a European Championship qualifier away against Portugal. After that, Lennon became a fixture in the international side although Northern Ireland were unsuccessful in their attempts to qualify for the finals of major tournaments.
Neil Lennon has been sacked
Neil Lennon has paid the price for successive defeats to Manchester United after being sacked by Omonia Nicosia.
The former Celtic boss brought his Omonia side to Old Trafford last week, where they put up a valiant fight before conceding a stoppage-time Scott McTominay strike.
They also impressed in the first meeting back in Cyprus, where they took the lead against Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. before ultimately falling to a 3-2 defeat.
However, those performances in the Europa League were in contrast to their league form, where they have won just three of their first seven matches. His final game in charge was a 1-0 defeat to Nea Salamis, with his fate confirmed just an hour after the full-time whistle.
Lennon was only appointed back in March, guiding the club to the Cyrpiot Cup for the first time in almost a decade. But in a statement which referenced “the ongoing competitive instability” it was confirmed the Northern Irishman was being relieved of his duties.
“We inform you that we have agreed with Mr. Neil Lennon to stop our collaboration,” a statement read. “Mr. Lennon took over the technical leadership of our team last March, at a difficult time and managed to lead us to winning the cup and then to the historic qualification against KAA Gent and our entry into the UEFA Europa League groups, where we came close to historic results against Real Sociedad and Manchester United.
Why did leave Celtic
For over 20 years, Neil Lennon has been a familiar face on and off the pitch at Parkhead.
On 24 February, the Celtic manager resigned from his position, with his side 18 points adrift of Rangers and hopes of a tenth league title in-a-row a distant one.
This season has been awash with speculation about if and when he would depart from Celtic, given the club’s failure to secure a win in 11 of their 30 league games, and criticism over a winter trip to Dubai.
Lennon first appeared on the pitch at Parkhead in December 2000 after signing for £5.75 million under his former manager at Leicester City, Martin O’Neill.
The midfielder supported the Glasgow club from his time as a young boy in Lurgan, County Armagh, and has said in his resignation statement: “I will always be a Celtic supporter myself and I will always want the best for Celtic.”
He was a holding midfielder in his seven years at Celtic, focusing largely on defence and only managing three goals from 2000 until he left the team in June 2007, moving to Nottingham Forest.