NEIL Lennon may only have been a manager for less than 10 years at Celtic, Bolton and Hibernian, but during that time he has achieved a huge amount and all the indications are there will be more successes to come in the future.
Yet, before he won three consecutive Scottish titles and tasted European glory at Parkhead and long before he lifted the Championship at Easter Road, he endured his fair share of angst, disappointment and failure.
Lennon could hardly, having only just taken over from the hapless Tony Mowbray, be blamed for the infamous Scottish Cup semi-final defeat that Celtic suffered to then second tier Ross County in 2010.
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But the losses he oversaw both at home and abroad the following season, after a busy summer of transfer activity had seen him sign, among others, Fraser Forster, Gary Hooper, Emilio Izaguirre, Beram Kayal, Charlie Mulgrew and Anthony Stokes for a hefty outlay, most certainly could be.
Celtic crashed out of both the Champions League and Europa League in the early qualifying rounds after producing inept displays against Braga and Utrecht, who both won 4-2 on aggregate, respectively.
Worse was to follow in the league. A 3-2 loss to Inverness Caledonian Thistle with just three games remaining allowed Rangers to edge a point ahead of them. The Ibrox club, with Walter Smith in charge, held their nerve, maintained their slender advantage and won their third consecutive Scottish title.
However, the Celtic board bravely resisted what must have been a strong temptation to offload Lennon and bring in an older and more seasoned head coach. Majority shareholder Dermot Desmond and chief executive Peter Lawwell both realised when they had appointed him that he had no managerial experience and would make mistakes. They stood by their man and were duly rewarded for their loyalty.
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The fiery Northern Irishman matured into a shrewd tactician and outstanding motivator of men. The undoubted highlight of his four year reign was the 2-1 triumph over Barcelona in the Champions League group stages that went a long way towards securing a place in the last 16 in the 2012/13 campaign.
The Rangers directors, chairman and major shareholder Dave King in particular, would do very well to recall the experiences of their counterparts across the city as they deliberate the future of Graeme Murty in the final weeks of this season.
A fair number of Rangers fans have already turned against Murty following consecutive league defeats at home to both Celtic and Kilmarnock. The six game winning run his side had been on has been quickly forgotten. Clearly, according to his detractors, the man has been promoted above his station, is out of his depth and should return to the youth ranks where he belongs.
Steve Clarke, who has performed miracles at Rugby Park on a limited budget since being appointed in October, has emerged as the favourite to replace him. Having worked at Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle, West Brom and Reading down in England, taking over at Ibrox wouldn’t faze him. He would, too, be affordable. Crucially, the supporters would approve.
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But the criticism of Murty has begged a question. What exactly did people they expect when he took over from Pedro Caixinha back in October? Sir Alex Ferguson? It was always inevitable that the 43-year-old would make errors or judgement, react poorly in certain situations and experience setbacks. So why express outrage and turn on him the minute he does? Why not allow him to develop, learn and mature like Lennon?
If Rangers lose to Celtic in the William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final next month it will make it difficult for them to hand Murty the job on a long-term basis. If they fail to finish second in the Ladbrokes Premiership ahead of Aberdeen they will be looking for a new manager for seventh time in three and a half years.
If Rangers win at Hampden or finish second in the league, and even if they don't do either, then King and his cohorts could do far worse than persevere with an individual who has shown a great many impressive qualities since inheriting an almighty mess last year instead of going back to the drawing board once again.
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