This is one headline I thought I wouldn’t be writing. But as it stands, Neil Lennon, looks like he could become the next Republic of Ireland boss according to media speculation and the bookmakers odds.
Lennon sits proudly at 23/10 above names like Roy Keane, Damien Duff and Steve Bruce as the current Republic boss Stephen Kenny remains under intense pressure following his sides capitulation to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal on Wednesday night and an embarrassing 1-1 draw with Azerbaijan yesterday.
Only a late goal from ex Celtic Shane Duffy spared Kenny’s blushes as the Irish team still find themselves searching for their first win in the campaign.
Lennon has been out of work since his ill fated spell ten in a row season at Celtic where a run of calamitous results and off field issues combined to make the former Celtic midfielders job untenable at Paradise.
The Republic currently sit second bottom of their group and qualification for the World Cup will look even bleaker if they fail to beat Serbia on Tuesday night.
Republic boss Kenny was defiant in front of the media after yesterdays draw, “We were absolutely exceptional against Portugal, we played very well in the previous game against Hungary, the previous game we scored four goals, the previous game against Qatar we played well and then the previous game, we obviously had a poor game against Luxembourg, but the previous game against Serbia, again excellent.
“So a lot of the recent performances have been very, very good.
“But we’ve got to turn performances into results.”
And that starts tomorrow night or else Lennon may find himself just a step closer to that elusive return to football management.