Celtic's Neil Lennon has been urged to take his time in deciding his international future following his uncomfortable midweek appearance for Northern Ireland at Windsor Park. Martin O'Neill, who signed the industrious midfielder from Leicester City for a record £6.5million last year, admits that Lennon is in a no-win situation, but has stressed the need for patience at a critical time in his career.
The former Northern Irish international insisted: "I don't want him to rush into a decision. I think deep down he doesn't want to do that himself but he is going to be asked on a daily basis what he is going to do. I don't think he wants all those things hanging over him. He just wants to play football. He has always had the desire to play for Northern Ireland and it is disappointing that some fellow countrymen don't feel that he should get that opportunity. I have spoken to him very briefly this morning and obviously he is very disappointed, as you naturally would be."
Lennon was substituted at half-time as planned in the 4-0 home defeat to Norway, but many believe events preceding and during the game could turn Lennon away from international football. The words "Lennon RIP" were scrawled on a wall in his home town of Lurgan next to a picture of a hanging man, while the constant boos that echoed around Windsor Park, home of Irish League club Linfield, will have heightened the anxiety of the Celtic midfielder.
In an interview with PA, O'Neill added: "I think he will have a chat with his family and I will speak to his father myself and I will go along with what he decides himself. It is a very difficult one and I know that Neil seldom thinks about himself and he will have to think long and hard about it. I think he feels he cannot win whatever comes or goes. If he doesn't carry on, he is almost giving in to them and allowing people to win."
Filed by Shane Murray
