Former Celtic and Bolton Wanderers manager Neil Lennon is interested in potentially taking the managerial role at Ipswich Town following Paul Cook’s departure, according to the Daily Record.
Lennon has been out of work since leaving Celtic for the second time in February after the Scottish giants made the decision to part company with him with the side 18 points adrift of Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premier League table. He did help them win successive league titles in the previous two campaigns after he took over following Brendan Rogers exit to Leicester City.
Ipswich suffered a 2-0 defeat at Charlton Athletic in their first game under the caretaker management of John McGreal, but according to the Daily Record’s latest update they are still going to be set to take their time to identify and bring in the right manager to replace Cook.
That is something that marries with what Mark Ashton has already claimed, with him revealing that Ipswich will take their time to come to the right decision and that they have a lot of enquiries from managers that are both in work and out of work.
The report from the Daily Record reveals that Lennon is interested in potentially getting the chance to work with Ipswich’s ambitious owners should he get the chance to take the job at Portman Road. That comes with the 50-year-old seeking a new challenge and a chance to get back in the dugout.
It is also believed that Lennon has already spoken with former Ipswich manager Paul Lambert regarding what it is like to be in charge of the Tractor Boys.
The verdict
This would be something of a surprising choice for me if Lennon was to take over at Ipswich. He has a mixed CV considering that he has enjoyed success with Celtic in his two spells as manager in terms of picking up five domestic league titles and also four Scottish Cups and one League Cup.
Having said that, Lennon’s time in charge of Bolton was not a successful one at all, to say the least. He had the job in difficult circumstances when the Trotters were in financial difficulty, but still, the way his side performed in the 2015/16 season campaign in the Championship left a lot to be desired.
It would not be likely to be an appointment that would excite Ipswich fans and they might want to consider appointing someone with more of a track record in League One. It will be interesting to see how the Tractor Boys respond to this interest from Lennon and at the moment from this report it does seem more to be coming from the former Celtic boss.
Ipswich might need to alter their timeline for making the next appointment following their poor performance against Charlton in which they were unable to show a positive reaction and get their form back on track.