‘No question’: Neil Lennon says he would like to be next Ireland manager

Neil Lennon has put his name in the hat to be the next Republic of Ireland manager after Stephen Kenny left the job this week.

Speaking on Premier Sports, the former Celtic manager said he hopes to be on the shortlist to be next manager.

“It is a fabulous job to start with. I have achieved a lot in my career in terms of my ambitions – playing for Celtic, managing Celtic – and managing Ireland would be another ambition of mine.

“But there will be a plethora of candidates and a process to go through. But I would love to have a chat or a crack at it.”

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Lennon believes there is plenty of talent in the Ireland squad.

“Yeah, I do. Everything is cyclical for me, when I look at Scotland, they have a good bunch of players, a lot of Premier League. The more players they have at that level, the better chance they have of qualifying. There is certainly good talent, from what I gather at under-21, under-19 level, there’s good players coming through as well.

“It means so much to myself as a person [to be manager], if the opportunity came along I would love to have the conversation. I’ve spoken to a lot of people who have done international management, you get to a certain age and you really enjoy it, because you don’t have the stresses of everyday management. It’s an opportunity that doesn’t come around too often.

“I’ve turned down jobs previously just because it wasn’t right. I think the best years are ahead of me as a coach because of the age I am and the experience I have in all walks of the game. Whether it is a tough job or not, it’s one you want to take on. It’s a real plum job at the minute.” he said.

Lennon had success in his first spell at Celtic, during which he led the club to three successive Scottish Premiership successes, two Scottish Cup wins and the last 16 in the Champions League. His second spell at Celtic Park ended in disarray in February 2021 with the Bhoys trailing arch-rivals Rangers by 18 points.

The FAI parted company with Stephen Kenny after three-and-a-half years as the Republic of Ireland manager on Wednesday.