‘Magnificently well’, ‘intense desire’: Gary Caldwell blown away by ‘fantastic’ Celtic man

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Celtic icon Gary Caldwell has waxed lyrical about Hoops boss Neil Lennon for his heroics in leading the Parkhead side to the brink of a tenth Scottish Premiership title in a row.

Lennon returned to the Celtic dugout in February 2019 after Brendan Rodgers left for Leicester City, initially until the end of the season.

The 49-year-old succeeded in getting the Bhoys over the line, securing a third domestic treble in a row despite increasingly strong competition from Rangers.

Last summer, Celtic rewarded Lennon with a permanent contract, a decision which was criticised by some fans at the time.

However, he barely put a foot wrong in 2018-19, getting his hands on the Scottish League Cup and a ninth consecutive Premiership title.

Caldwell believes that Lennon is the only man a team would want to lead the club in such a crucial season, also praising him for turning Celtic into such a swashbuckling outfit.

“What Neil has achieved and the work he has done since he came into Celtic on the back of Brendan leaving has been fantastic,” Caldwell told the Daily Record. “It was never going to be an easy task to go into the club after Brendan had done so well.

“He’s managed to change the style of play and produce a style of football which the Celtic fans probably hadn’t seen for a long time… it would have been very daunting for him but he’s handled it magnificently well.

“Having been a team-mate of Neil’s and having worked with him as a coach, I have always known he’s someone who is driven with an intense desire to win football matches.

“The standards that he sets and the demands he puts on people will only be rammed up this season, you can be certain it will never drop.

“Celtic have the right man to have the club pushing for 10 in a row, that’s for sure.”

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Lennon had his fair share of critics after being reappointed at Celtic, first as a caretaker and then as a permanent manager, but credit to him, he has answered those emphatically en route to a potential tenth title in a row.

It’s not going to be easy, given the Hoops’ city rivals are intent on stopping this historic feat and have bolstered their ranks further, but as Caldwell says, there’s no better individual for Celtic to have on board ahead of potential footballing immortality.