Lennon in Paradise

Happy days: Neil Lennon, Henrik Larsson and Jackie McNamara will be hoping
for more celebrations in next Saturday's Scottish Cup final



SOCCER: Celtic's peroxide blond looking forward to treble



A CRUMPLED old guy with a walking stick is hobbling through a cafe in
Glasgow City Centre and, as he shuffles past the striking peroxide blond at
the neighbouring table he's been staring at throughout his lunch, he can't
resist a comment. "Good luck next Saturday," he croaks.



The blond is Neil Lennon and Saturday means the Scottish Cup final, Celtic
against Hibernian, and the chance for Celtic to complete the Treble.



Most footballers, used to politely fending off wellwishers in their free
time, would thank the crumpled old guy and carry on with their afternoon.
Lennon starts up a conversation. "Well it would be something to do the
Treble for the first time since 1969 ... " and off he goes, taking the
crumpled old guy on a nostalgia trip for a while, eulogising the Lisbon
Lions, Bobby Murdoch and all that.



Lennon knows his history, see. For as long as he can remember, from the days
when he played for Lurgan Celtic Boys Club back home in Northern Ireland, he
has regarded being a Celt as a way of life.



He is intoxicated by it. Not normally one for getting carried away, he
doesn't mind admitting playing for Celtic feels like the fulfilment of his
destiny. If you listen carefully as he waxes lyrical on the subject you can
almost hear shimmering violins in the background.



The green and white hoops mean so much to him he is able to stomach the fact
that representing Celtic has tarnished his international career. Infamously,
during his first appearance for Northern Ireland since his £5.8 million
transfer last December, he was harangued by the predominantly Protestant
crowd for playing for a Catholic club.



"I wasn't aware of the scale of abuse I was going to get and felt very alone
out there," he recalls. "That night I was just glad to get out in one piece
and I hope I don't have to go through that again. My international career
will always have that bit of gloss taken away from it because of that
night."



Memories of police escorts and vile murals around the family home
proclaiming "Neil Lennon RIP" linger in the mind of a 29-year-old who
prefers life to be a lark.



Although great efforts have been made to clamp down on sectarian invective
at Windsor Park, don't be surprised if Lennon withdraws from Northern
Ireland duty after this World Cup qualifying campaign.



"I was wondering whether it was all worthwhile," he ponders, before
concluding: "But coming here to this club makes it all worthwhile." And as
the notion of Neil-Lennon-Celtic-player pops back into his head the smile
starts spreading once again over that urchin face.



Within about five minutes the Parkhead experience exceeded every
expectation. Welcomed into the family, reunited with his manager-mentor
Martin O'Neill, thrilled to be part of a fabulous winning team, adored as
only an Irishman at Celtic can be, stirred by the intensity of the Old Firm,
man about town in Glasgow's chic West End, Lennon has never had it so good.
Suitably inspired, he is working harder at his game than ever before.



In fact, Lennon is slightly apologetic about the fact Peter Taylor, who
managed him for a few unsettling months at Leicester in between Celtic bids,
never saw the best of him. "It was preying on my mind," Lennon admits. "I
didn't want to rock the boat when they made an approach in the summer, but
once Celtic came in for me again I decided I had to force the issue and ask
for a transfer. If not, I probably would have regretted it for the rest of
my life."



So, he took a pay cut and bought a one-way ticket to a place they and he
call Paradise.



He remembers time stopping as he stared at his jersey before pulling it over
his head for the first time. "This is it," he thought. "This is a lifetime's
ambition realised." He promptly walked into the team and they didn't lose
for 25 games.



People say the Premiership is the place to be and that a move to Scotland is
a backwards step. Lennon disagrees. His prediction for a full-blooded match
between the best of Leicester and the best of Celtic is (after a long hard
pause, admittedly) a Celts win. "The standard here is not as bad as everyone
makes it out to be."



O'NEILL is so impressed with his midfield dynamo's impact that he doubts his
team would be on the brink of the Treble without Lennon's input. "In the
British game we look at people like Keane and Vieira. They are world-class
players. I'm telling you Lennon aspires to that and he's not far removed
from it."



The innate understanding player and manager share, something forged over
five years at Filbert Street, made it easy for Lennon to slot into the team
and the dressing room.



O'Neill, Lennon notices, hasn't changed much, apart from the halo which
people wearing green can detect above his head: "The status and position he
is in has given him more of an aura. We won the league and I had a few
friends up from Leicester and they were saying: 'We're feeling the presence
of greatness all of a sudden.' Mind you, that's what it's like here. You are
just revered. It's a throwback, it's refreshing, it's not really a corporate
machine, it's about football, the love of the game, the love of the team ...
" He's off again.



Sorry, back to Merlin O'Neill. "He's just stamped his personality all over
the place and turned the club on it's head and the feelgood factor is here,"
adds Lennon. "Last season we won the League Cup but finished 22 points
behind Rangers and got knocked out of the Cup by Inverness. It was a
disaster. The players who were here from last season have found something,
they have dug deep, and they've made a massive contribution. The new players
have brought something extra to the party. The collective spirit is
excellent.



"Look at the likes of Bobby Petta and Stilian Petrov, who didn't have great
times last season the turnaround in their performance has been phenomenal.
That's down to the gaffer. The ability was always there and he has just
boosted their confidence. They just want to go out and play for him. I don't
know how he does it. Some managers have it and he's got it."



And then summer. Lennon's expression, for once, goes blank. While every
other footballer in Britain has been counting the hours for a few weeks of
precious freedom, his season has been such a dream he simply doesn't want it
to end.



Observer




Amy Lawrence