Neil Warnock's departure from Aberdeen yesterday left Neil Lennon gobsmacked.
The 75-year-old shocked Scottish football as he stood down from the role at Pittodrie following their 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup.
Warnock was in position for just 32 days, as he struggled to get a tune out of the Dons players following Barry Robson's sacking.
Lennon was installed as the early frontrunner to take on the job upon the news about Warnock leaving on Saturday afternoon.
But the ex-Celtic manager insists he was stunned to hear of the news.
He told Viaplay Sports: "I was gobsmacked. He came under a lot of criticism with the players with recent performances and results. But that was a big win for them for the remainder of the season.
"I thought he'd have been there for the duration of the season and somebody else would've come in and taken over. So yeah, I was really surprised to see that decision being made."
READ MORE: Neil Warnock responds to accusations he threw his Aberdeen players 'under a bus'
Lennon, 52, was asked about the prospect of taking over the reins at Pittodrie earlier this week.
Speaking on Wednesday, Lenny said: "Timing's important and the Aberdeen job is something that I'd very much be interested in, no question.
"There's great potential there. I was linked with it last month, but I was still involved with the process of the Ireland position at the time, so I couldn't really take it on."
Dave Cormack said in a short statement: “The club would like to thank both Neil [Warnock] and Ronnie Jepson for their efforts. With the search for a new manager at an advanced stage, Peter Leven will assume control of all first team matters until the process is concluded.”
Aberdeen host Dundee in a vital game-in-hand over the rest of their Premiership rivals on Wednesday night.
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