Neil Lennon would be willing to hold talks with the Scottish Football Association if they approached him about becoming the next manager of their national side.
While the Co Armagh man would not be drawn yesterday on his interest in the vacant post, it is understood that the Hibernian manager would accept an invitation to discuss it with the SFA, provided his club permitted him to do so. When Gordon Strachan was dismissed in October, Lennon appeared to rule himself out of contention for the job by saying that international football did not float his boat and that he “might go missing” during three-month sabbaticals.
But Michael O’Neill’s surprise decision to turn it down has left Lennon as one of only a few credible alternatives.
“It’s something that I’ve not given much consideration to,” Lennon said. “The day-to-day stuff I enjoy, but the more you think about it, well maybe at some stage it might be something that tickles your fancy.
“It’s a very good job. The only criticism of it is that I would not have changed Gordon. Progress was being made and I understand his remit was to get to the qualifiers but there was definite progression. Michael has turned the job down, but that happens. I’m sure there are many other candidates who would like to take the job on.”
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It is unclear whether Lennon is a target for the SFA, who claim that O’Neill was one of several names on a shortlist. Yesterday, the former Celtic manager said that he had not been contacted and that he would rather talk about his team’s Ladbrokes Premiership match against his old club this afternoon.
That would have been much easier if Brendan Rodgers had not said 24 hours earlier that Lennon was “a great fit” for the Scotland job. The Celtic manager suggested that the SFA should at least establish whether his fellow Northern Irishman might be interested.
“It’s very flattering,” said Lennon. “I thought he was my mate. When you have a manager of the calibre of Brendan talking about you like that then it’s much appreciated. I’m not canvassing for the job obviously, but from a personal point of view it means a lot.
“I’m not here to talk about the Scotland job because it’s unfair. I’m the Hibs manager. I know the job’s available but there’s been no contact and I’m sure they’ve got umpteen contenders.
“I’m really happy [at Hibs]. It was a bit of a calculated risk to take this job on, but I knew we could take it places. I’m 18 months into the job and there’s still a lot of work to be done but we’re very happy.”