YOU might call them Scotland’s Northern Irish managerial mafia. And as one member of the clan closes in on the international hot-seat in the country where he has chosen to put down roots and make his home, it was only right that the intrigue should begin as to which, if any, of the others should come to the fore to replace him in the hot-seat back across the Irish Sea.

At its shortest point, the gap between Scotland and Northern Ireland is just 12 miles, and the footballing cultures of these two passionate footballing hotbeds have never seemed so entwined.

You can read elsewhere in these pages about the thoughts of Brendan Rodgers and Stephen Robinson on the subject – the former coming through the same Star United youth club in Ballymena as O’Neill, while Robinson was a valued member of his backroom team at Northern Ireland all the way up to the Euro 2016 finals.

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But on a day when the odds of O’Neill becoming the replacement to his old Coventry City friend and mentor Gordon Strachan shortened further on the news that he had rebuffed the chance to manager Sunderland, one man ruling him out of contention to take up the Windsor Park hot seat should any vacancy arise was Neil Lennon.

While the Hibs manager served the country with distinction and racked up 40 caps mainly during his time at Leicester City, he retired from international football after being on the receiving end of death threats shortly after joining Celtic.

Asked if he would say no to the chance to manage his country, Lennon said: “Yeah, absolutely. I enjoy what I do and I like the day-to-day thing - I’d miss that too much. I don’t think I’m ready for international management. I don’t like the feast or famine aspect to it either. You win a couple of games and you’re the best thing since sliced bread, you lose a game and the whole world falls around you. It’s just disproportionate from a public perception.”

If Lennon didn’t fancy the gig, then who would he put forward? Well why not Tommy Wright, whose St Johnstone side he faces in tomorrow’s clash at Easter Road. “Tommy would, I’d imagine, be a prime candidate for it,” said Lennon. “He had a great career playing for Northern Ireland and he’s worked with Northern Ireland before as part of the coaching staff.”

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The first man in 30 years to lead Northern Ireland to a major finals, O’Neill came so close to repeating the feat, as they put in a battling display during a 1-0 aggregate defeat to Switzerland. While Lennon hopes the former Hibs and Dundee United midfielder, who lives in the Morningside area of Edinburgh, stays on, he also reckons he has the managerial nous and personality to thrive in the Hampden dugout.

“His stock is very high and from an Northern Ireland point of view I want him to stay on,” said Lennon. “Michael has performed miracles. To get to the last 16 of the Euros and then to make the play-offs in a group containing Germany and the Czech Republic was unheard of when I played.

“Tactically he is very strong and defensively they are well set up, and they became really hard to beat,” he added. “Michael is a very intelligent boy and well educated. He came into management late as he was doing a financial advisory role for a while and then took the Brechin job. He did really well with Shamrock Rovers and took them into the Europa League group stages. So he is smart and he will make the right decision for himself, whether that will be moving on or staying. He is quite savvy that way.”

What did Wright make of it all? Well, simply that Michael O’Neill never mentioned the Scotland job when the pair spoke as recently as Wednesday but he feels his friend has earned the right to take his time over his future. Having worked in O’Neill’s coaching team, the former goalkeeper is simply surprised his former Newcastle and Northern Ireland team-mate has not already been poached by a major club after guiding his country to the last 16 of last summer’s European Championship.

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“I spoke to Michael at length and the Scotland job never came up in conversation but it is well documented that Scotland feel that he is their preferred choice and I believe they have made contact with the IFA,” said Wright. “If that’s true I don’t think the IFA will give up lightly, I think they will do everything in their powers to keep Michael because the job he has done with Northern Ireland is incredible. But it is evident with what he has done with Northern Ireland, he would be able to bring that to the table with Scotland.”

Friends or not, Wright isn’t entirely sure what O’Neill’s decision would be if offered the Scotland job. “I genuinely don’t know what he would do,” said Wright. “He has to sit and look at what challenge he wants next, whether it is the challenge to get Northern Ireland into another Euros or the challenge of a fresh start at club level or international level. But he deserves the right to make that decision.”