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Danny Lennon

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Danny Lennon
Personal information
Date of birth (1969-04-06) 6 April 1969 (age 55)
Place of birth Whitburn, Scotland
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1993 Hibernian 37 (2)
1993–1999 Raith Rovers 152 (14)
1999 Ayr United 7 (1)
1999 Ross County 7 (0)
1999–2003 Partick Thistle 98 (12)
2003–2005 Gretna 10 (0)
2006 Workington 0 (0)
2006–2008 Cowdenbeath 18 (0)
Total 330 (29)
International career
1995–1998 Northern Ireland B 4 (0)
Managerial career
2008–2010 Cowdenbeath
2010–2014 St Mirren
2015 Scotland U21 (caretaker)
2015 Alloa Athletic
2016 Airdrieonians (acting)
2017–2022 Clyde
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Danny Lennon (born 6 April 1969) is a Scottish football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Scottish League One club Clyde.

In his playing career he is best known for his spells at Raith Rovers and Partick Thistle. He also experienced international football with the Northern Ireland B side during his spell at Raith.

Lennon began his managerial career with Cowdenbeath, the club where he ended his playing days. After a successful period with the Fife club, he was appointed St Mirren manager in 2010. He won the 2012–13 Scottish League Cup with St Mirren, but his contract was not renewed when it expired in 2014. After a caretaker spell in charge of the Scotland under-21s, he managed Alloa Athletic during 2015.

After a spell as acting head coach of Airdrieonians, Lennon was appointed Clyde manager in November 2017. Under his management, Clyde secured promotion back to Scottish League One in 2019.

Playing career

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Club

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He began his career at Hibernian, before signing for Raith Rovers for £30,000 in 1993. Lennon was part of the Raith squad that won the Scottish League Cup in 1994, but he missed the Final due to injury. Raith qualified for the UEFA Cup thanks to winning the League Cup. Lennon scored in their tie against Bayern Munich, briefly giving Raith a 1–0 lead in the second leg in the Munich Olympic Stadium.[1] 20 years later, Lennon was inducted into the Raith Rovers Hall of Fame. [2]

After leaving Raith in 1999 he played for Ayr United, Ross County, Partick Thistle, Gretna, Workington and Cowdenbeath.

On 18 November 2011, Lennon was inducted into the Partick Thistle Hall of Fame after he captained the club to successive promotions. [3]

Lennon briefly came out of retirement in 2019, 11 years after he had last played, bringing himself on for Clyde against Celtic colts in a Glasgow Cup match.[4]

International

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During his time at Raith Rovers, Lennon won four caps for Northern Ireland B.[1] Lennon was eligible to play for Northern Ireland through his grandmother.[1]

Coaching career

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Cowdenbeath

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Lennon was appointed as Cowdenbeath manager in 2008, replacing Brian Welsh.[5] Lennon managed the club to two successive promotions despite the club being in significant financial trouble.[6]

St Mirren

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Lennon was appointed manager of Scottish Premier League side St Mirren on 7 June 2010, signing a two-year contract, succeeding Gus MacPherson.[7] Lennon picked up his first win for St Mirren with a 1–0 win over Hibernian, courtesy of a goal from Craig Dargo. The Buddies finished the season in 11th place, just managing to avoid relegation.

Over the summer, Lennon decided to make wholesale changes in the playing and backroom staff and also developing a new formation and philosophy. Lennon's signings included Scottish internationals, Gary Teale from Sheffield Wednesday and Steven Thompson from Burnley. He also added Dutch players Nigel Hasselbaink and Jeroen Tesselaar while replacing long term assistant manager Iain Jenkins with a more experienced coach in Tommy Craig. St Mirren started the season in good form, beating local rivals Greenock Morton 4–2 in the Renfrewshire Cup final and beating Aberdeen in the first home game of the new season. Lennon agreed a new contract with St Mirren in November 2011, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2014.[8]

The following season Lennon lead the Buddies to their first ever Scottish League Cup triumph in a 3–2 win over Heart of Midlothian. It was the club's first major silverware since the Scottish Cup win in 1987,[9] and the fourth major honour in the club's history.

After the 2013–14 season was completed, St Mirren decided not to offer Lennon a new contract.[10] During his time in Paisley, Lennon led the club to their highest league position in over 20 years, finishing eighth in both the 2011-12 and 2013-14 season.

In October 2017, Lennon was inducted into the club's Hall of Fame, cementing his status as a St Mirren legend.[11]

Scotland U21

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In February 2015, Lennon was appointed caretaker manager of the Scotland national under-21 football team.[12] He took charge of one friendly match, a 2–1 victory against Hungary.[13]

Alloa Athletic

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Lennon was appointed manager of Alloa Athletic in April 2015, succeeding Barry Smith.[14] He led the "Wasps" to success in the Scottish Championship play-off final which retained the club's status in the second tier of Scottish football at the end of the 2014–15 season. After gaining just five points from their first 16 games of the 2015–16 season, Lennon resigned on 7 December 2015.[15]

Airdrieonians

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In March 2016, Airdrieonians manager Eddie Wolecki Black suffered a stroke during a match against Scottish League One opponents Cowdenbeath.[16] In order to allow Wolecki Black time to recover from his illness, Lennon was appointed as acting head coach of the North Lanarkshire club until the end of the 2015–16 season.[17]

Clyde

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Lennon returned to management with Scottish League Two club Clyde on 13 November 2017, after the departure of Jim Chapman.[18] The Bully Wee's results improved in the first months of Lennon's tenure, with the club climbing from eighth position to finish the 2017-18 season in fifth place, three points off the promotion play-offs.

On 7 May 2019, Lennon agreed terms to remain as Clyde manager for at least an additional two years, which was later extended to the end of the 2021–22 season. [19]

He led the Bully Wee to Scottish League One promotion on 18 May 2019, after beating Annan Athletic 2–1 on aggregate to win the promotion play-off final, thus ending their nine-year exile in the bottom tier. [20] This saw Lennon receive the SPFL League Two Manager of the Season award. [21] In their first season back in Scottish League One, Clyde finished seventh in the 2019-20 season when it was curtailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 8 April 2022, Lennon put pen to paper on a new two-year contract with the club, on a deal until May 2024. [22] [23]

On 25 October 2022 the club announced that Lennon had left the club on paid authorised absence and that his assistant manager, Allan Moore will take over on an interim basis. [24] This was amid a nine-match winless run, despite achieving the club's best start to a league campaign in 11 years. [25] A week later, on 31 October, the club officially announced Lennon's departure with immediate effect. [26]

At the time of his departure, Lennon holds the distinction of the Bully Wee's longest-serving manager in 30 years.

Managerial statistics

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As of match played 22 October 2022
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Cowdenbeath 11 June 2008 7 June 2010 91 41 26 24 045.05
St Mirren 7 June 2010 12 May 2014 179 50 54 75 027.93
Scotland U21 (caretaker) 18 February 2015 7 April 2015 1 1 0 0 100.00
Alloa Athletic 7 April 2015 7 December 2015 27 6 3 18 022.22
Airdrieonians (acting) 10 March 2016 4 May 2016 8 3 2 3 037.50
Clyde 13 November 2017 25 October 2022 198 79 37 82 039.90
Total 504 180 122 202 035.71

Honours and achievements

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Player

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Raith Rovers
Partick Thistle

Manager

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Cowdenbeath
St Mirren
Alloa Athletic
Clyde

Individual

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Danny Lennon, Northern Ireland Footballing Greats.
  2. ^ "Raith Rovers Hall of Fame: Bayern Munich hero is first inductee for 2023 show". Fife Today. 25 May 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Lennon's a legend in Jag's Hall of Fame". Daily Record. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Clyde boss Danny Lennon, 50, helps beat Celtic colts". BBC Sport. 20 August 2019. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Lennon in charge as Welsh is axed". BBC Sport. 11 June 2008.
  6. ^ McDaid, David (7 June 2010). "St Mirren invest faith in new manager Danny Lennon". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  7. ^ "Danny Lennon excited by St Mirren challenge". BBC Sport. 7 June 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  8. ^ "St Mirren manager Lennon agrees new contract". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  9. ^ "Scottish Communities League Cup final: St Mirren 3 Hearts 2". Daily Telegraph. 17 March 2013. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  10. ^ "Danny Lennon: St Mirren decide not to offer manager new contract". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Danny Lennon to be inducted into St Mirren Hall of Fame". St Mirren F.C. St Mirren. 17 July 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Danny Lennon in temporary charge of Scotland under-21s". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  13. ^ "Scotland Under-21s: Danny Lennon leaves role to join Alloa". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  14. ^ Crawford, Kenny (7 April 2015). "Alloa Athletic appoint Danny Lennon as new manager". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  15. ^ "Danny Lennon resigns as Alloa Athletic manager". bbc.co.uk/sport. BBC Sport. 7 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
  16. ^ "Scottish football sends best wishes to Airdrie boss Eddie Wolecki Black after he suffers stroke during match". The Courier. DC Thomson. 7 March 2016. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  17. ^ "Danny Lennon takes temporary charge at Airdrieonians". BBC Sport. BBC. 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  18. ^ "Danny Lennon Appointed". Clyde FC. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  19. ^ "Danny extends Clyde contract". Clyde F.C. 21 September 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  20. ^ "Clyde 2–0 Annan Athletic". BBC Sport. BBC. 18 May 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2019.[permanent dead link]
  21. ^ "LENNON LANDS LEAGUE 2 AWARD". SPFL. 11 May 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Danny Extends Contract". Clyde FC. 8 April 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  23. ^ Muir, Matthew (8 April 2022). "BREAKING: Clyde manager Danny Lennon signs new contract". City Live. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  24. ^ "Club Statement: Danny Lennon". Clyde FC. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  25. ^ Muir, Matthew (15 August 2022). "Cinch Scottish League One: Three things we learned". City Live. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  26. ^ "Club Statement: Managerial Update". Clyde FC. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  27. ^ "Heart of Midlothian v Alloa Athletic". Alloa Athletic. 8 April 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
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