Celtic

Scottish Premier League champions Celtic have parted with manager Neil Lennon, bringing an abrupt end to the former captain’s four-year spell as manager.

Having won five SPL titles, four Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups during a seven-year playing career, Lennon had enjoyed an equally successful stint as manager, leading the club to a further three league titles while adding another two Scottish Cups to the trophy cabinet.

Perhaps his biggest achievement was the Champions League run of 2013, which saw Celtic progress from a group including Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow to reach the knockout stages of the competition.

The defining moment of that exceptional run was easily the historic 2-1 win over Barcelona at Celtic Park.

Ultimately, the 42-year-old reportedly ran out of patience with the lack of money available for the playing staff and was concerned about the club’s ambition to succeed in Europe.

As per BBC Sport, Lennon released the following statement:

I have parted company with Celtic.

The club are in a very strong position and I wish the fans and the club all the very best for the future.

I can't thank Peter Lawwell and the board enough for their backing and support during my time as manager.

The nature of Lennon’s annual rolling contract meant speculation always surrounded his future with the Scottish giants. As a result, his departure may not come as a huge shock to many.

According to Alan Douglas of the Daily Mail, club legend Henrik Larsson is being heavily linked with the vacancy—the 42-year-old is currently in charge of Falkenbergs in his homeland of Sweden.

The announcement comes just weeks after assistant coach Johan Mjallby confirmed he would not be renewing his contract with the club.

There is no confirmation on what Lennon's next move will be. 

Who should replace Lennon as Celtic boss? Post your thoughts below.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has ended his memorable reign with the Scottish champions, prompting speculation that Hoops legend Henrik Larsson will replace him.

As reported by Keith Jackson in the Daily Record on Thursday:

Neil Lennon has officially left his post as Celtic manager.

News broke of Lennon’s departure today after almost four years in charge of the reigning Scottish champions, following days of speculation about his future.

The 42-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to relegated English side Norwich City and top flight West Bromwich Albion.

BBC Sport reported Lennon's comments as he confirmed his departure from the club:

The Northern Irishman took over at Celtic Park on a permanent basis in June 2010 after he had seen out the previous season as caretaker manager following Tony Mowbray's departure. 

He won three consecutive league titles with Celtic as well as leading them through to the last 16 of the 2012-13 Champions League, claiming a famous victory over Barcelona in the process.

Squawka provides the quite remarkable Scottish Premier League win percentage Lennon achieved during his time at the club:

Larsson, who spent seven very successful years at Celtic as a player, is currently the bookies' favourite to fill Lennon's vacated post, per Alan Douglas in the Daily Mail.

Between 1997 and 2004, he scored 242 goals for the Glasgow outfit and was voted by Celtic fans as one of the club's greatest players, per Gregor Kyle in the Daily Record.

However, Hakan Nilsson, sports director of Falkensbergs—the club at which Larsson currently manages—denied there has been any contact from Celtic regarding the Swede's future.

Former Wigan and Bolton boss Owen Coyle, currently unattached, is also being linked with the position, per talkSport's James Fielden:

A great deal of speculation now surrounds Lennon's next post with Norwich and West Brom in the mix as well as French club Monaco, per Bleacher Report UK:

The link to the Canaries has existed ever since the Norfolk outfit's relegation to the Championship, with 101 Great Goals seemingly backing the move:

However, there are many who believe he should be testing himself in the Premier League, with the manager-less Baggies seemingly a good fit, per Football365's Daniel Storey:

Wherever Lennon eventually ends up he has proved himself to be an adept manager as his record with Celtic certainly proves.

However, the fact he has left Celtic to move to potentially a lowly Premier League side or even a Championship side is a poor reflection on the state of Scottish football.

Lennon will no doubt be missed by the Celtic fans after bringing such success to the club, but if Larsson takes up the mantel there would be great joy in the green and white half of Glasgow.

Celtic assistant manager Johan Mjallby has announced his desire to leave the SPL Champions this summer.

The former Celtic player had joined Neil Lennon's backroom staff in 2010, a spell in which the club has lifted three SPL titles and two Scottish Cup trophies, but he is now ready to bring an end to his time with the Glasgow giants in favour of seeking a new challenge within the game.

News of the 49-year-old's decision was broken via the club's official website. The Swedish coach took time to express his gratitude towards the Hoops and to reflect on his time at Celtic Park: 

I have enormous affection for Celtic Football Club and it is with sadness that the time to leave has arrived. However, I now leave to seek some different opportunities. 

It was an honour to return to the Club and work in management with Neil, Garry and the players, and we have worked hard over the last few years to once again bring the Club success.

Prior to joining the club's coaching staff, Mjallby had previously enjoyed a successful spell at Celtic Park in a playing capacity.

During a six-year spell, which started in 1998, Mjallby helped Celtic to three SPL titles, two Scottish Cups, and two Scottish League Cups. He captained the side on several occasions and additionally played a major role in the Glasgow team's run to the 2003 UEFA Cup final, which they lost to Jose Mourinho's Porto.

Celtic are yet to make any announcements regarding Mjallby's successor.

Whether or not Celtic equal the record points total of the SPL/SPFL era of 103, set by Martin O'Neill's side in 2001-02, their season cannot be considered a success.

Equalling the points record is not a foregone conclusion yet—after drawing 1-1 at home to Ross County on Saturday they would need to win all six remaining matches to do so. Of course, that feat is not beyond their capabilities; Neil Lennon's side have lost just once and drawn four times in the league all season.

Yet, questions still remain. Does the commanding nature of Celtic's march to a 45th top division title serve simply to undermine their season as a whole?

Even if a third successive title win was inevitable, the level of consistency Lennon's side have shown is impressive by any standard. Kris Commons has, once again, reaffirmed his credentials as the best player in the country with an outstanding 27 goals from his attacking midfield berth to date.

A change in formation to a diamond midfield, with Commons as the attacking point, has produced a system which is both fluid going forward and solid defensively. Virgil van Dijk has rarely looked less than imperious in central defence—even if he continues to be excluded from Louis van Gaal's Netherlands squad. Fraser Forster, meanwhile, furthered his own quest to go to the World Cup this summer by breaking the Scottish record for minutes without conceding a goal.

Nevertheless, a totally disheartening European campaign—one win and five defeats from six matches, with just three goals scored—in addition to premature exits in both domestic cups combine to raise a massive question mark over where it went so wrong outwith league football.

An argument could be made that getting to the group stage of the Champions League was an achievement in itself—and there is doubtless substance in such a contention. However, with the excellent precedent set the previous year, when Lennon led the Hoops to the round of 16, the fans would have been forgiven for expecting a much better showing in the group itself.

Facing Barcelona was always going to be difficult, even more so this time round as the Catalans were out to avenge the momentous victory Lennon's side achieved against them last season. Ajax minus Christian Eriksen and a Milan side enduring their worst domestic campaign for years were far less intimidating.

Yet, once again the difference between the Scottish champions and their European opponents was lack of technical quality and the ability to keep possession effectively. And goals; three during the group stage is simply not good enough.

The season was just a couple of months old when the Hoops crashed out of the League Cup at home to Morton—a team which has now been relegated from the second tier of Scottish football having won just twice in the league all season. 

With the treble already lost to them and a European run out of the question, the goal changed to winning the double and going through a full league season unbeaten. The season's standout side, Aberdeen, destroyed both possibilities in the space of just two-and-a-half weeks back in February.

February 8 brought Scottish Cup elimination to the Dons—yet again the Hoops were put out at home—and saw the season's target reduced only to an unbeaten league campaign. Aberdeen ended that hope, as well as Fraser Forster's clean sheet run, as Celtic travelled to Pittodrie and succumbed 2-1 on February 25.

And so, the equalling of a points total set in a different era is the only target remaining to Celtic across the last month of the season.

Last term, Celtic's league form was uninspiring, with players at times seeming unmotivated and distracted. A brilliant Champions League campaign which brought an historic win over Barcelona at Celtic Park and a domestic double more than compensated for the lack of overall competition in the league.

This season, the history books will suggest the title was the only accolade which interested them.

Twitter: @smarti51

All statistics referenced in this article come from Transfermarkt and Soccerbase.

On Friday, the Daily Record reported that Celtic youngster Darnell Fisher will be out of contract at the end of the season.

The club are no doubt working behind the scenes to tie him down for the next few years. Indeed, they may even have the option to extend his current deal by another year, as has been the case with several players over the last few years.

According to Sky Sports, the right-back signed a contract extension only a year ago.

Regardless, Celtic must offer Fisher a new, longer deal for three reasons: form, potential and security.

The 19-year-old has made 11 first-team appearances so far this season. Six of those have come as part of a defence which helped Fraser Forster go 11 consecutive league matches without conceding—breaking Charlie Shaw's 100-year-old clean sheet record in the process.

Despite being young and inexperienced, the youngster has comfortably slotted in alongside Virgil van Dijk, Efe Ambrose and Emilio Izaguirre in a back four which has conceded just 12 league goals all season.

The defender is also the first graduate direct from the club's youth system to manage a regular run in the senior side since the emergence of winger James Forrest in 2010. 

Forrest's progress may have stalled in recent seasons, but when on form, he can still be almost unplayable.

Right-backs are also a different breed than wingers. Where Forrest was expected to entertain and create, Fisher need only stay consistent and show a willingness to join in attacks.

If current form were not reason enough to offer him a new deal, then Fisher's potential for further improvement surely would be.

For all his impressive performances, there is still substantial scope for enhancement. His defensive positioning can be suspect at times, especially when it comes to his tendency to allow opposition wingers the opportunity to slip inside him and run at the centre-backs. 

He also appears hesitant to fully commit to attacks at times—something generally expected of Celtic full-backs.

The good news for the Hoops is that these supposed weaknesses are things that can be improved with more games in the first team and the confidence and experience that carries with it.

It helps that legendary right-back Danny McGrain trains the club's youngsters.

The ex-Celt—who was regarded as a world-class full-back during the 1960s, '70s and '80s—told the Daily Record back in November 2013 how highly he rates Fisher:

I like what I've seen of Darnell so far. First and foremost at Celtic you need to be able to defend—then you need to be a good counter-attacker, an overlapper who can cross.

He's already beginning to build a reputation of being pacy and hard in the tackle. 

But he still has a lot to learn and he knows that. 

The Daily Record notes that England Under-21 manager Gareth Southgate is another admirer, increasing speculation that Fisher is close to a call-up despite his relative inexperience at the club level.

Even the biggest obstacles to Fisher's continued involvement at the senior level could work for him when it comes to winning a new deal.

Injuries to Adam Matthews and Mikael Lustig allowed him this extended run in the first team. Both suffer from recurring injury problems—Matthews has missed large patches of his Celtic career due to injuries of varying degrees of severity. Lustig, meanwhile, has been plagued by hip injuries since shortly after he joined and is not due back until April from his latest layoff.

Nonetheless, the misfortune of his team-mates is not the upshot for Fisher, though he did admit in an interview with The Scotsman that he fully intended to take advantage of the experience that afforded him:

You have to try and express yourself when you get the change. Obvsiously Mika [Mikael Lustig] will be out for a few months now but I wouldn't say I was happy when I heard that.

I suppose it's a bonus for me as there might be more chances and I have to take any that come my way.

Both Matthews and Lustig are highly rated individuals who have been attracting interest from a variety of clubs and perform consistently well in the Champions League.

It would not be surprising if either, or both, decided to move on in the next year or so.

With that in mind, securing Fisher—a player who has shown himself capable of filling in for two of the side's best players—to a long-term contract makes sense for the club, even if manager Neil Lennon's overarching intention would be to sign a "ready-made" replacement in that scenario.

Given his solid performances and the trend of rewarding a player in fine form with renewed personal terms and an extended deal—not to mention the fact he is knocking on the door of an England Under-21 call-up and his main opponents for a regular starting spot are attracting widespread attention—it would not be surprising to see a club statement released in the next few weeks announcing that Fisher has been handed a new contract. 

It almost seems inevitable.

Twitter: @smarti51

By lunchtime this January transfer deadline day, Sky Sports, the Daily Record and the Scotsman had all reported that Celtic had re-ignited their interest in Scotland international Leigh Griffiths.

All three sources agree that the fee accepted by Wolves stands at £1 million—or, rather, £800,000 up front plus £200,000 in performance-related bonuses.

A portion of Hoops fans have made it clear they would rather the club did not sign a player with such a difficult reputation off the field—including a shoplifting charge and allegedly sending a racist tweet, as well as perceived general attitude problems.

Regardless, Neil Lennon was in no doubt about what the former Hibs loanee could offer his side in a recent interview, reported by STV:

Goals. I think he had a fantastic season last year and he's improved as a player. There's also tremendous scope for him to get better. He knows the environment and I think if he comes here we can improve him. He might change people's perceptions of him.

It's no secret the Hoops badly need a goalscoring striker. Attacking midfielder Kris Commons has thrived in the free role Lennon has given him this season, but too often is he relied upon as the only steady stream of goals.

All four first-team strikers—Anthony Stokes, Teemu Pukki, Amido Balde and Bahrudin Atajic—have collectively managed just 15 of Celtic's 75 goals this campaign.

Admittedly, it is hard to chastise Balde or Atajic for this return. The former has scored three goals despite playing the equivalent of just under four matches, while youngster Atajic has one goal in his 23 minutes of first-team action.

Stokes and Pukki have notched just 11 goals between them during their combined 55 appearances.

Both prefer playing with a partner and tend to drop slightly deeper during matches. While the Irishman somewhat makes up for his unimpressive goals tally with his creative contributions—eight assists so far—neither have shown form particularly inspiring form in front of goal yet.

Elsewhere in the team, Georgios Samaras, infinitely more effective as a winger, has contributed eight goals. Unfortunately the club's second-highest scorer this campaign looks to be edging ever closer to the exit door at Parkhead, with STV reporting Trabzonspor are currently leading the chase.

Griffiths could potentially fill this goalscoring void.

The 23-year-old certainly knows how to find the net in his home nation: 46 goals from 89 matches in Scotland's three premier competitions proves that.

What the Celtic support will want to know most, though, is can he do it in Europe? The honest answer is: no one knows. 

Until the day comes, Griffiths' ability to perform on the biggest stage will remain untested and unknown.

But Lennon coyly pointed to the precedent set by Scott McDonald and Gary Hooper when asked about this, correctly reminding everyone that neither player was signed from a big club (Motherwell and Scunthorpe United, respectively) yet both went on to contribute important goals in domestic and European competition.

Undoubtedly Hoops fans would prefer to see previously linked players like Heerenveen striker Alfred Finnbogason or Benfica playmaker Filip Djuricic arrive instead of a forward who most would characterise as talented, but with a questionable off-field attitude.

Keeping in mind the fact this is the January transfer window in a season that currently sees Celtic unbeaten domestically and at little risk of any serious competition, anything other than a young, relatively cheap option was about as likely as second-placed Aberdeen staging a smash-and-grab title win come May.

Ultimately, if Griffiths is brought in, manages to stay largely out of any negative publicity and contributes anywhere near the level of McDonald or Hooper, he will win over the majority of his doubters.

Twitter: @smarti51

Statistics via Transfermarkt, Soccerway and WhoScored.