Leicester City fans will always remember the Martin O’Neill years with great fondness. Wembley glory, League Cup final victories and regular top ten finishes in the Premier League. The manager, of course, was the main reason for that success, creating one of the most competitive teams in the country.

If O’Neill was the passionate, fiery and breathlessly energetic driving force on the touchline, then Neil Lennon was the embodiment of that on the pitch. Soar Magazine caught up with ‘Lenny’ to reminisce about his time with City, the achievements with Celtic and his managerial future.

Joining the Foxes in 1996 from Crewe Alexandra, Neil Lennon helped the club to the Premier League in his first season. In the top flight, Leicester exceeded all expectations and Lennon carved out a reputation as one of the division’s finest midfielders.

“The time at Leicester moulded my career. I remember it with great fondness. I played under an inspirational manager with a great team, a great work ethic and we had fantastic support.

“I think team spirit is undervalued, particularly in the modern game. We were really tight as a unit and the perennial underdog, tipped as relegation fodder. I think we were one of the first teams to go through the play-offs, stay up and consistently finish in the top ten.

“Martin didn’t really spend a great deal. There were great characters. Claridge was quirky, Walshy was a leader, Tags and Matty were laid back off the field but winners on it. Muzzy was one of the best I played with and Emile went on to have a fantastic career.

“I wouldn’t say we were journeymen, but we were guys Martin had picked from the lower leagues. There was a real hunger about us and he kept that hunger for a long time.”

A smile appears on Neil’s face as he recounts the story of signing for Leicester. After speaking to Ron Atkinson, Lennon was extremely close to joining Coventry City, until O’Neill entered his Manchester flat.

“You talk about days that change your life and that was it. I was due to go to Coventry and I had a visit from Martin and he talked me out of it. It was this whirlwind of a guy coming in and he made you feel that you wanted to play for him there and then.

“He had great charisma and intelligence and just said to me, ‘even though we’re in Division One, we will get promoted and we will play in the Premier League. You’ll be a big part of it.’ He was true to his word.”

Lennon had made his mark on O’Neill at Crewe following his release from Manchester City. Recounting those early feelings of rejection, Neil explained how he uses the experience to encourage young players shown the door at Celtic.

“At the time, I thought leaving Manchester City was the end of the world. I was only 19 and had given my life to training. I have to do that with younger players myself now. It’s me that’s got to sit down and tell them and it’s heartbreaking. I use myself as an example. I say it’s there for you if you want it.

“I got a break as Dario Gradi came to watch me and he liked what he saw. It was a huge culture shock going from Man City to this tiny little club and it took a bit of getting used to.”

After a promising start with Crewe, Lennon encountered more adversity after suffering a career-threatening injury.

“Halfway through that first season I got diagnosed as having a spinal fusion so that meant an operation and I’d be out for the following season. There were times during the rehabilitation period that I questioned whether I’d make it back to where I was or even get back playing football. I had a wee bit of spirit in me and just kept going. You want to get back to the very top. You’ve been to the bottom so the only way is up.”

He certainly did that, first with Leicester and then with Celtic after a move in 2000 meant a reunion with Martin O’Neill. Lennon talked at length about the influence the inspirational former City boss has had on his career.

“Huge and he still is a huge influence on my career. I take on a lot I learned from him. His forte is man-management. It is common knowledge that he didn’t do a lot on the training ground. Well, that doesn’t mean he didn’t know a lot about the game. He had a vast knowledge of the game and the opposition. He keeps it simple and he understands how you feel in games, recognises certain situations and how to deal with them and how to cope with the pressure.

“Then to take that on to Celtic where the expectation is on another level, huge and unrealistic at times, he learned to cope with that. He just gave you so much confidence. He had a great team in John Robertson and Steve Walford. It’s no surprise he went on to great things at Celtic and is still doing that at Aston Villa. He is one of the great modern day managers.”

The fact the Lenny holds O’Neill in such high regard was a major factor in his decision to join the Glasgow giants.

“It was only Celtic. Martin was there so that compounded the feeling. George Graham at Leeds made some inroads and Ranieri was interested at Chelsea, but once the call came from Celtic there was only one place I wanted to go.

“You get there and you want to be a winner. We had to get things right domestically first and Martin came in and gave Scottish football such a kick-start. Celtic had lost the league by 20 points and he came in and won it by 20 points. We won every domestic trophy and he built a great team, with a great mentality. That’s the other thing Martin works really hard on, the mentality of getting a winning team on the pitch and believing in yourselves.

“Gordon Strachan came in and we had three fantastic seasons. We made the Champions League last 16 for the first time and did it again the following year. To go through that as a double winning captain was incredible.”

As well as countless highs, there were well documented lows, not least the death threats that brought a premature end to his international career and how he suffered from depression during his spell at Leicester, something Neil speaks openly about.

“With depression it doesn’t matter who you are and what you do, it doesn’t pick and chose people, it is an illness. I came out in public because it can be a very lonely thing. Millions of people in the world have it and people think there’s something horribly wrong with them. There’s not. It’s a really common illness. I wouldn’t say it’s easy to remedy, but there’s a lot of help out there to get you through the hard times.”

Clearly a deep thinker about the game and a great talker, management is the next challenge for Lennon and after impressing as Celtic’s caretaker manager, a full-time role is something Neil will relish.

“I’ve enjoyed the responsibility. I’ve been around the club as a coach so there’s nothing new to me. It was a huge challenge because morale was pretty low. We galvanised ourselves and beat all the top teams in our final six games and went on to beat Rangers, which gave the fans something to look forward to for next season.

“For me it’s the next logical step in my career. I’ve done all my qualifications and I’m about to finish off my Pro Licence.”

So, everything seems in place for the affable but supremely focused Neil Lennon, as one of Leicester City’s modern playing greats prepares to follow in the footsteps of arguably the club’s finest manager.

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