IT was a year ago today (February 26) that Neil Lennon returned to Celtic as manager, initially, of course, in an interim role, but the fact that the Irishman is still holding the rudder at Celtic Park tells us why we are celebrating the first anniversary of that appointment in this week’s Celtic View.

He had, of course, held the reins at Celtic Park previously and, remarkably, arrived back in March 2010 under similar circumstances as interim boss – although the departures of the previous incumbents of the manager’s chair couldn’t have been more different in each case.

The announcement of every new manager heralds a new mood of hope, expectation and dreams. Unfortunately, under Tony Mowbray, the anticipation and any optimism didn’t come to fruition and his departure saw the then reserve manager, Neil Lennon installed as interim manager for the final eight league games of the season.

The Hoops were also still in the Scottish Cup at that juncture and, despite dropping out at the semi-final stage, the club had seen enough in the eight straight league wins to offer the former Celt the manager’s job on a permanent basis.

By the time he departed in 2014, Neil Lennon had led the Celts to three league titles and two Scottish Cups – those three championship wins being the first of the current eight-in-a-row.

That paved the way for Ronny Deila to come in and keep the consecutive title run ticking over with another two flags flying high above Paradise before Brendan Rodgers came on the scene in 2016.

Unprecedented success followed under the former Liverpool manager with the Invincible Treble followed by the Double Treble, and the League Cup was also added for a third successive year before the Irishman departed for Leicester City this time last year.

Once more, Neil Lennon was called into the fray as interim manager, but this time the circumstances were rather different – not to mention rather more difficult as well.

The outgoing manager would be a hard act to follow and he left the club when an unheard of Treble Treble was almost within touching distance – you could almost smell it as it shimmered there just out of reach.

In his previous appointment as Celtic manager, Neil Lennon was tasked with turning the ship around. Now his remit was to keep it on course and deliver that unparalleled Treble Treble amid the threat of a seemingly emboldened and increasingly confident challenge from Ibrox.

The Armagh Celt stepped up to the plate and resolutely answered the questions as to whether he could fill Brendan Rodgers’ shoes in the role of Celtic manager.

Quite simply, the trophies just kept on rolling in and the man who set the ball rolling in the eight-in-a-row stakes, maintained the momentum by sealing the title.

He then followed that up with the Scottish Cup to seal the Treble Treble and that’s when he was once more offered the job on a permanent status.

It didn’t stop there, though, as the League Cup, the only trophy the Lurgan man never won in his first spell as manager, was added to the tally as it became the team’s 10th successive domestic trophy and it was won four times in a row for the first time since the days of Jock Stein.

Neil Lennon was instilled as Celtic manager on February 26, 2019, and exactly 286 days later on December 8, 2019 - or only 33 domestic games later – he had led the Hoops to all three trophies.

In this week’s Celtic View, we take a look at some of the key games.

THE FIRST GAME

Scottish Premiership

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh

HEARTS…1

(Bozanic 55 pen)

CELTIC…2

(Forrest 35, Edouard 90+2)

THE ‘welcome home’ game for Neil Lennon had the potential to not be any less welcoming as the new manager always had a hot reception at Tynecastle in his various roles with Celtic and Hibernian – it would also be a tough test on the pitch as well. It turned out to be an emphatic, brave and hard-fought victory against Hearts as the Hoops opened the scoring with a brilliantly-worked counter-attack that was completed by James Forrest, before the home side – down to 10 men following a rash challenge on Jeremy Toljan by Jamie Brandon – pulled level with a second-half penalty. However, two minutes into four minutes of added time, substitute Odsonne Edouard showed great composure to fire the Hoops into the lead, and secure all three points to maintain the champions’ eight-point lead at the top of the table. Neil Lennon’s celebrations showed exactly what the win meant to him.

TITLE DEED

Scottish Premiership

Saturday, May 4, 2019

Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen

ABERDEEN…0

CELTIC…3

(Lustig 39, Simunovic 53, Edouard 88)

THIS was the day that the SPFL trophy returned to Celtic Park for the eighth successive year, and a potentially difficult trip to Pittodrie proved to be a remarkably enjoyable day. A wonderful diving header from Mikael Lustig in the first-half, followed by bullet header from Jozo Simunovic in the second, and a typically cool finish from Odsonne Edouard in the dying minutes made the difference for the Scottish champions on a blustery day in the Granite City. The manager took to the turf at the end of the game with his players as they celebrated in front of the travelling fans. All that was left now was the final piece of the Treble Treble jigsaw – could Neil Lennon put that piece in place and finish the season with a perfect picture?

TREBLE TREBLE YELL

Scottish Cup Final

Saturday, May 25, 2019

Hampden Park, Glasgow

CELTIC…2

(Edouard 62 pen, 82)

HEARTS…1

(Edwards 52)

HEARTS hanselled Neil Lennon’s second spell as Celtic manager – but would they also finish it as well? The spectre of being caretaker manager will hang over any prospective boss until he proves himself in the role. At Celtic, that only means one thing – success. Winning the league had, indeed, proved that the Irishman could take care of Celtic, but the hitherto unheard of phrase of ’Treble Treble’ was reaping gravity week by week – would landing the job permanently depend on breaking Hearts and winning the third consecutive treble? We’ll never know as the Hoops came from behind at Hampden to defeat Hearts 2-1 in the Scottish Cup final. It was a dramatic second half in which Neil Lennon’s side eventually took the lead with just eight minutes of regular time remaining to secure the historic Treble Treble. The decisive goal came as a headed clearance from Mikael Lustig pierced the Hearts defence and Odsonne Edouard timed his run to perfection to break free. One-on-one with the keeper, Edouard lifted the ball over Zlamal from 18-yards and into the back of the net – history was made once more.

FEET UNDER THE TABLE

UEFA Champions League

First qualifying round, 1st Leg

Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Asim Ferhatovic Stadium

FK SARAJEVO…1

(Oremus 29)

CELTIC…3

(Johnston 35, Edouard 51, Sinclair 84)

INDEED, the job was Neil Lennon’s and his first game as permanent Celtic manager for the second spell came as the Hoops started their UEFA Champions League qualification campaign with a convincing 3-1 win over FK Sarajevo in Bosnia. The Scottish champions showed their quality in their response to going a goal down as they fought back and firmly asserted their superiority on the tie. It was also the first step in a European campaign that, after parachuting into the UEFA Europa league, would once more see Neil Lennon carve his own name into another chapter of Celtic’s history.

A MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

Scottish Premiership

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Celtic Park, Glasgow

CELTIC… 7

(Johnston 9, Christie 26, 30, 68, Ntcham 73, Edouard 80, Griffiths 87)

ST JOHNSTONE… 0

THIS game doesn’t feature because it was Flag Day for the eighth consecutive season, although that would be a very deserving reason. No, this particular game makes the cut because it is the highest-scoring game of Neil Lennon’s second reign – so far. An emphatic hat-trick from Ryan Christie, and goals from Mikey Johnston, Olivier Ntcham, Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths paid deference to the occasion, as the Hoops kicked off their league title defence in style. With seven goals and five different scorers, Neil Lennon’s men ensured it was a Flag Day to remember. The manager’s biggest wins over the piece in the Scottish Cup and League Cup are 5-0 wins over St Johnstone and Partick Thistle respectively.

LENNY VIDI VICI

UEFA Europa League

Matchday Four, Group E

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

LAZIO…1

(Immobile 7)

CELTIC…2

(Forrest 38, Ntcham 90+5)

NEVER in over 50 years of trying – a period that took in 13 games (including the 1970 European Cup final) – had Celtic won a competitive game on Italian soil. Many managers from Jock Stein onwards had tried and failed. That all stopped when Neil Lennon took his team over to the Eternal City back in November. The Scottish champions showed their qualities with a historic 2-1 victory over Lazio in the group stages of the UEFA Europa League. The triumph also saw Neil Lennon’s men secure European football after Christmas for the third time in as many years. Stunning goals from James Forrest on 38 minutes and Olivier Ntcham five minutes into second-half added time saw the Hoops come from behind and remain at the summit of Group E. With two games remaining, and 10 points on the board, Celtic were guaranteed at least second place – the Hoops ended up topping the table for the first time ever and their four wins helped to a club record 13 points in a group stage.

TEN OUT OF TEN

League Cup Final

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Hampden Park, Glasgow

CELTIC…1

(Jullien 60)

RANGERS…0

AT lunchtime on Sunday, December 8, 2019, the League Cup was the only trophy Neil Lennon hadn’t won as Celtic manager, by teatime it was in the bag, he had won all three, and all three were still at Celtic Park. It was also 10-in-a-row as a 10-man Celtic side came out on top in a hard-fought Glasgow derby League Cup final to win 1-0 and reach double figures in consecutive trophies. Neil Lennon sent on Odsonne Edouard shortly after the restart and the Frenchman was cynically chopped down by Goldson out on the wing. It proved to be a costly mistake for Rangers. Ryan Christie swung in the free-kick and Christopher Jullien side-footed the ball in from close-range in front of the Celtic fans. Celtic were dealt a blow shortly after when Alfredo Morelos went down in the box under a challenge from Jeremie Frimpong. The referee issued a straight red card and awarded Rangers a penalty. The Columbian stepped up but he was no match for Fraser Forster who dived low to his right to make the all-important save. The Celtic fans erupted in joy as the final whistle blew at a rain-soaked Hampden and Neil Lennon had the full set.

TON-UP BHOYS

Scottish Premiership

Sunday, February 2, 2020

New Douglas Park, Hamilton

CELTIC…4

(Edouard 35, 81, Jullien 78, Forrest 90)

HAMILTON ACCIES…1

(Ogkmpoe 26)

IT was in the 43rd domestic game of Neil Lennon’s second term as Celtic manager that the Hoops hit their 100th goal in those games. The home side took the lead in the first half before Odsonne Edouard levelled for Celtic from a free-kick with what was the century goal. Christopher Jullien put the Hoops ahead and Edouard scored again to increase the lead. James Forrest then rounded off an exciting afternoon with his side's fourth. In all, the Hoops have now scored 153 goals since the manager returned, with 120 of those coming in domestic games and the manager has rounded things off with exactly 100 SPFL points won since he returned.

Total Second Term	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
League	39	32	4	3	95	22	73	100
League Cup	4	4	0	0	13	3	10
Scottish Cup	5	5	0	0	12	2	10
Europe	15	10	3	2	33	15	18
Domestic Tot	48	41	4	3	120	27	93
Total	63	51	7	5	153	42	111	100

Read A Year In Paradise in this week’s Celtic View, out now.

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Neil Lennon's Year In Paradise in this week's Celtic View