Neil Lennon faces a major challenge after being appointed as the new boss of struggling Championship outfit Bolton Wanderers
Championship Bolton Wanderers have appointed Neil Lennon as their new boss.
The Northern Irishman will start work on Monday morning in his new job.
Lennon will once again work alongside coaches Johan Mjallby and Garry Parker at the Macron Stadium.
Confirmation
Lennon’s arrival was announced with a statement on the clubs official website that read: “Bolton Wanderers are delighted to announce the appointment of Neil Lennon as the club’s new manager.
“The extensive list of high calibre applicants demonstrated how those candidates viewed the opportunity to manage the club, even in its present position at the bottom of the Championship table.
“Following a process of first and second interviews with a shortlist of initial candidates, a unanimous decision was taken by Eddie Davies, Brett Warburton and Phil Gartside.
“He will officially take charge of the Bolton Wanderers team from Monday morning in the run up to our upcoming game away at Birmingham City.”
Struggling
The former-Celtic boss has a big task on his hands attempting to resurrect Wanderers fortunes. The North West club are currently sitting bottom of the Championship table, after collecting just one Championship win all season.
The Trotters dispensed with the services of former-Crystal Palace boss Dougie Freedman nine days ago after the clubs poor start to the season.
The Wanderers have undergone a mighty fall from grace in the past few years, as they have gone from a stable midtable Premier League club to a team that finds life hard in the second tier of English football.
The Trotters are in need of a shot in the arm and maybe the appointment of Lennon could be just what they need to recover from their current malaise.
Successful
Neil Lennon enjoyed a highly-successful time in Scotland with Celtic. The Hoops won the SPL title on three consecutive occasions under their former midfielder. Even more impressively the former-Leicester midfielder also guided the Hoops to the last 16 of the Champions League, beating Spanish giants Barcelona 2-1 along the way.
Challenge
The 42-year-old left Celtic in May, as he reportedly wanted a fresh challenge. It was assumed that his next step would be to move to an English club. A host of Premier League teams were linked with the former-Northern Ireland international, including Crystal Palace.
However, it is at the Reebok Stadium where he will attempt to launch his managerial career in English football.
It looks like Lennon has chosen the right club if he really wants to test his managerial acumen. He is regarded as a highly-rated coach, but his achievements have been downplayed by some because of the standard of opposition that Scottish football has to offer Celtic.
Any manager would struggle with the situation that the Trotters currently find themselves. Not only are they bottom of the Championship table, but also majorly in debt. In the last financial year Bolton announced debts of £168million, with a report published last December.
The club have seen a long line of managers and players pass through the door in recent years, many on contracts that did not justify their presence at the club. If ever there was a challenge then the Bolton job is it.
If Neil Lennon can help the club out of their current mess, then he will prove that he is the highly-rated coach that a lot people believe he is. The Trotters are currently second favourites for the drop into League One at odds of 6/4 though.
Ideal
This could be an ideal situation for everybody. Neil Lennon is desperate to prove himself at a higher level than the SPL and has taken a massive risk by moving to a club in such turmoil. However, if he fails to turn things around he can point to the mess that the club are currently in as the reason.
Bolton as a club are in need of a lift and the arrival of such a highly-rated boss as Lennon could give the whole club a lift. The Trotters hierarchy have made some poor decisions in recent years, but I have a feeling that the decision to appoint Neil Lennon will not be another one.
Can Neil Lennon resurrect Bolton Wanderers?
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