Former Crewe Alexandra midfielder Neil Lennon has made a return to management in the professional game and is once again managing oversees.
It has been 18 months since the Scotsman was last in a job having been sacked by Cypriot side Omonia Nicosia after a bad spell of form. He had led Omonia to the Cypriot Cup during his time with the club but it didn’t exactly all go to plan there.
Having taken a break from the professional game, Lennon is now back in a job, joining up with Romania Liga I outfit Rapid Bucharest. With the Romanian top flight finishing last Sunday, the club have acted quickly after finishing a disappointing sixth place.
Lennon is potentially most well-known for his time managing Scottish Premiership giants Celtic, a club who he’d win a rather magnificent five titles with, buts was also rather special during his playing days.
The majority of his career as a player would also be spent with the Scottish outfit, however that was not where he’d initially make a name for himself. The former Northern-Ireland international would break onto the scene at Crewe Alexandra and would go onto amass over 175 appearances during a five-and-a-half-year spell with the club.
He’d represent his national side whilst with the Railwaymen and the now-League Two outfit would give him the opportunity to make a name for himself. The 52-year-old would earn the club a very decent fee, over £750,000 in fact, through his sale to Leicester City in 1996 and will go down as one of Crewe’s greatest ever players.
The Northern Irishman will be hoping the move to Romania can reinvigorate his career as a manager and was optimistic when speaking to the club’s official website (translated).
“I hope to create a strong connection between myself and the fans, but that comes with getting positive results and performing.”
“It is my responsibility. I know they are very passionate supporters who love the club. They are similar to Celtic fans.”
A good spell with the Romanian club could put Lennon’s name back on the map after a while out but it does seem somewhat of a bizarre next step for the former Northern-Irish international.
Writer’s View
Lennon has surely got to go down as one of Crewe’s best ever players and ‘older’ fans will no doubt have some good memories of his time at the club. It’s fair to say that he’s been potentially even more successful as a manager than he was a player although he has been in a tricky patch of his career over the last couple of years. Nonetheless, it could be a move which pays off.
After a disappointing loss to Crawley Town in the play-off final, Crewe will have high hopes of promotion again next season. Under Lee Bell they’re surely in the conversation and as long as the loss in the final doesn’t harm them too much early on in the season, then they’ll be a team to track next term.
