Neil Lennon (Co. Armagh)

Born 1971 in Lurgan, Co.Armagh, Ireland.

The fiery North of Ireland international developed into one of the finest all-round midfielders in the Premiership when moving to Filbert Street in 1996.

Lennon is very consistent and his athleticism and hard tackling made him a pocket dynamo at the heart of the Leicester midfield.

Manchester City decided Lennon wouldn't make the grade, and after just one game off-loaded him on a free transfer to Crewe Alexandra. The move to Dario Gradi's side looked to be a backward step, particularly when Lennon picked up a back injury, which required a major operation and a long period of recovery.

In more than five years at Gresty Road, Lennon became known as one of the best central midfielders in the lower divisions. Several bigger clubs were interested but it was Martin O'Neill who was prepared to take a risk on the 25-year-old.

When O'Neill left the club in the summer 2000 to take over, as manager of Celtic his first target was Lennon. Despite an eventual £8million offer to Leicester and generous personal terms to the player, it had seemed that the long-serving midfielder had decided to pledge his future to the Foxes, by signing a new long-term deal at Filbert Street.

However the pull of his first footballing love was too great and he arrived within a few months of O'Neill. According to one newspaper, the deal was threatened by a late bid from Chelsea to secure his signature. Leicester's much-publicised 5pm deadline on Tuesday (Dec 5) alerted Blues boss Claudio Ranieri, who immediately acted on the advice of his boardroom.

Despite the lure of a salary alleged to be higher than his reputed £30,000 per week at Leicester, the midfielder would not be swayed from his desire to link up with Martin O'Neill at Celtic.

Played his part in the treble-winning side of 2000/2001 and suffered shocking sectarian abuse from both Rangers fans and the fans of the North at Windsor Park, for having the audacity to play for Celtic.

A death threat eventually led to his early retirement from the North's team.

A key man in the Celtic midfield at present

P. Sweeney (Secretary)
Parkhead House,
Dungloe,
Co.Donegal.
Ireland.