Celtic legend John Hartson believes that Neil Lennon is still the best man for the permanent job at Parkhead, despite talk of Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benitez taking over during the close season.
The Hoops clinched their eighth consecutive Scottish Premiership title with an impressive 3-0 win away from home against Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Saturday.
Despite needing just a single point to move one step closer to a treble treble, Celtic were in cruise control against the Dons and cruised to a win through goals from Mikael Lustig, Jozo Simunovic and Odsonne Edouard.
As such, Celtic need just another win over Hearts in the Scottish Cup final to make it nine trophies from their last three domestic campaigns in Scotland.
And although that would put Lennon in good stead to secure the permanent job, Celtic are still being linked with the likes of Mourinho and Benitez.
However, Hartson still believes that Lennon is the ideal candidate to take over on a permanent basis at Parkhead and feels he could work wonders if provided with the funds that would be necessary for the likes of Mourinho and Benitez.
“While Celtic fans might be getting excited though, it’s not as if Neil would just be a safe pair of hands either”, Hartson wrote in his column for the Evening Times.
“I genuinely do think he could take us forward given the funds and the support.
“But when somebody like a Mourinho or a Rafa Benitez becomes available, the general feeling from a huge part of the support would be to get him in.
“Until I hear it out of the horse’s mouth, I’ll stick to backing Neil as the best man for the job.”
Celtic will play Hearts in the Scottish Cup final on 25th May at Hampden Park.
