Celtic legend David Hay believes that Rafael Benitez could not do any better than Neil Lennon as the permanent manager at Parkhead next season.
Lennon, who was appointed as interim boss after the departure of Brendan Rodgers in February, has yet to receive any assurances with respect to landing the job on a permanent basis.
The Northern Irishman has a rich history of winning trophies as a player and manager at Celtic and will be aiming to put his best foot forward to land the job permanently by securing a treble treble.
Despite suffering just a single defeat since taking over from Rodgers at Celtic, Lennon’s future at the club remains uncertain and Benitez has been linked with the job.
The Newcastle United boss has yet to agree on an extension with the Magpies and as such, he has been tipped as a potential future Celtic manager.
However, Hay believes that Benitez could not do any better than Lennon, if he was appointed as manager ahead of the Northern Irishman.
And amidst doubts of whether Lennon will land the job, Hay explained that big names do not necessarily guarantee success and stressed the interim boss can do a job as good as anyone, if he is trusted with the role.
“If I was pressed on whether I think he will get it or not, I’m now really not so sure”, Hay wrote in his column for the Evening Times.
“Names like Rafa Benitez get the fans excited, but would they do any better of a job at Celtic than Neil?
“If he gets it, I think Neil could do as good a job as anyone who has been linked with the post. A big name is no guarantee of success, by the way.”
Hay also added that Lennon knows what it takes to win trophies at Celtic and conceded he was surprised to find out that some sections of the fan base do not favour his appointment.
“Neil knows what it takes to be Celtic manager, he certainly knows what it takes to win leagues and cups at the club, so I had thought that almost 100 percent of fans would be behind him.
"But that has proven not to be the case”, he added.
Celtic will be eyeing bouncing back from their defeat to Rangers at Ibrox last weekend, during their final game of the Scottish Premiership season against Hearts at Parkhead on Sunday.
