Neil Lennon: Ex-Celtic captain says death threat ahead of NI game drove him to succeed at Celtic

Neil Lennon has said that the death threat he received just before captaining Northern Ireland helped drive him on to achieve more success with Celtic.

He said he was determined that the incident would not define him and that he never considered returning to play for his country after it happened.

“Very much so,” Lennon said when asked if the incident drove him on to succeed.

“A year later I was playing in a European final [Celtic’s Europa League final defeat by Porto], then I got the Celtic job and it drives you on.

“It is part of your DNA, it is where you are brought up. We are thick-skinned in Armagh.”

He added: “My way of getting back at people was to win, to keep going and be successful. That is the way you can show that you are not deterred by this.”

Two years after joining Celtic as a player, Lennon, who would go on to manage the Glasgow giants, was chosen by Northern Ireland manager Sammy McIlroy to captain the side in a friendly against Cyprus at Windsor Park.

A death threat was phoned in to the BBC in the hours leading up to the game, leading to Lennon not taking to the field that night and, ultimately, deciding not to play for his country again.

“You can go one way or the other, you can give up or you can go ‘I’ll show you’,” he said when reflecting on how he was informed of the death threat.

“I was going to be captain that night and Sammy McIlroy came in. I could just sense something.

“He told me there were two policemen outside who wanted to have a word with me. They told me they had had a phone call into the BBC that said that ‘if you turn out tonight something is going to happen to you’.

“I asked what that meant and they said they didn’t know. I said ‘well on a scale of one to 10 how serious are you taking it?’

“They said that they have to take it seriously so I then rang the head of security at Celtic, who said I was not to take any chances and for my dad to pick me up and that they would organise for me to come back to Glasgow. That was the end of that.”

Lennon never considered returning for Northern Ireland

Two years later, in June 2004, the BBC reported that Lennon was thinking about returning to play for the Northern Ireland team, with Lennon saying he would speak to his family again and to the manager [who was Lawrie Sanchez by then] and see what they think.

However, asked on The GAA Social if he ever considered coming back to play for his country, Lennon, who was a hugely successful captain and manager of Celtic, said he did not.

“No, because the story would have been the same,” he explained.

“It would only have taken another phone call for it to happen again and the narrative would have been about me, not the team, which is the most important thing.

“Players would be thinking ‘what is this all about?’ It was a very difficult situation for them because they had nothing to do with anything. Neither did I, really.

“What was happening was I was a high-profile player playing for Celtic, very high profile at the time. Obviously it ramped on when I became manager as well.”

Lennon, who won 40 Northern Ireland caps, was also adamant that he would not let the incident define him.

“Of course not. It doesn’t define me, no. What defines me is my family, my faith and all the trophies I have in my cabinet at home.

“Faith in a religious sense. I am proud of where I come from and I am proud of the upbringing that I had. I wouldn’t be who I was or had all the success and the journey that I have travelled on without the upbringing I have had.

“I am very proud of that, why wouldn’t I be? I am no angel, don’t get me wrong. I have had my moments.”

‘Martin O’Neill got down and kissed Anthony Tohill’s feet’

In a hugely insightful episode of The GAA Social, Lennon admits he would be interested in the vacant Republic of Ireland manager’s job, talks about the pressures of managing Celtic and reveals the biggest regret of his football career.

He also reflects on an infamous touchline confrontation he had with then-Rangers manager Ally McCoist while Celtic boss and gives an insight into Martin O’Neill’s managerial strengths, recalling how he once dropped Frank Sinclair from a League Cup final team for being late for a Leicester City team meeting the night before.

The Lurgan native was a talented GAA footballer and played for the Armagh minor team, alongside current county manager Kieran McGeeney, before becoming a professional footballer and starting a career that saw him play for Crewe Alexander, Leicester City and Celtic.

“I loved it [gaelic football]. I loved the physicality of it. I used to get battered, I’d come off the pitch with a broken nose at times and my dad would just say that was part of the game.

“It toughened me up and stood me in good stead when I eventually went across the water. There was also a lot of skill involved and I was lucky to play with a lot of great players.”

He added: “I remember the day we [Armagh] won it [the All-Ireland title in 2002. I was playing for Celtic away to Dundee and we won the game.

“I was gutted I couldn’t be there [at Croke Park] but I was straight into the dressing room after the game and got my phone out – you aren’t allowed phones in the dressing room but I had cleared it with the manager, Martin O’Neill.

“I rang my dad and all I could hear were the horns going in the background. It was very special for me on a personal level, from my childhood up until I was 16 when football really took over.”

Lennon also told a compelling story about a day when he had former Derry star Anthony Tohill as his guest for an Old Firm match at Parkhead, which Celtic won.

“I went down to Martin O’Neill’s office and brought in Anthony. Well, I kid you not, he jumps up from his desk, runs around the desk – and don’t forget there are other people in the room like Billy McNeill.

“He pushes me out of the way, gets on his hands and knees and kisses Anthony Tohill’s feet. I said ‘gaffer you have never done that to me over all these years’. He said ‘you’re not a real footballer, Lennon, that’s a real footballer there’.

“He told me to go out and he kept Anthony in there for about 20 minutes. And that’s Martin’s own love for the game, he’s a Derry man and Anthony was one of his heroes.”