Neil Lennon has pledged to get Dunfermline fans excited about their team’s brand of football again after agreeing a short-term deal to take charge at East End Park.
As Mail Sport revealed, the Northern Irishman has been confirmed at the club’s manager initially until the end of the season.
The 53-year-old takes over with the Pars sitting second bottom of the Championship and brings vast experience to the post.
Twice manager of Celtic, Lennon also led Hibs out of the second tier in 2017 as well as enjoying spells with Bolton, Omonia Nicosia — where he won the Cypriot Cup — and Rapid Bucharest in Romania.
Lennon, who will face his former Parkhead captain when Dunfermline meet Scott Brown’s Ayr next weekend, stressed that his priority was to guide the team out of trouble.
However, clearly with an eye on extending the arrangement into next season, he targeted eventually turning the Pars into a side renowned for their attacking style of play.
Neil Lennon has signed a deal to take over at Dunfermline until the end of this season
Michael Tidser was sacked by the club last week after 11 games in the East End Park dugout
Lennon guided Celtic to 10 domestic trophies during two spells in charge at the club
‘I’m very excited about the prospect of joining Dunfermline Athletic Football Club,’ he said. ‘Once I spoke to James Bord (new co-owner) he put across a very compelling proposition on his ambitions for the club.
‘However, short term our aim is obviously to be in the Championship next season.
‘Having watched the match against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup, it’s clear there’s talent in the squad, perhaps just a little low on confidence at the minute.
‘What we want to do is bring an energy, confidence and an exciting brand of football. It may not happen instantly, but we want to play on the front foot, excite supporters and get the players believing in what we’re doing.’
Lurgan-born Lennon made over 700 senior appearances as a player, primarily with Crewe Alexandria, Leicester City and Celtic and won 40 international caps for Northern Ireland.
He will be joined in Fife by coach Iain Brunskill. After serving as assistant academy technical director at Liverpool for a decade, Brunskill spent time at Norwich, Blackpool, QPR and most recently Rapid Bucharest as assistant coach under Lennon.
Chairman and CEO David Cook said: ‘Firstly I’d like to welcome Neil and Iain to KDM Group East End Park.
‘We very quickly identified Neil as the outstanding candidate for the role. Having managed at the very highest level in the country he will bring a huge wealth of experience to the club.
Lennon will go up against his former Celtic captain Scott Brown at Ayr United next weekend
‘Whilst it’s been a team effort in securing the services of such a high calibre manager, this wouldn’t have been possible without James Bord’s personal involvement in the negotiations.
‘Neil has already started work preparing for next Saturday’s match with Ayr United and with seven matches remaining we know our supporters will get behind Neil, Iain and the rest of the staff and squad as we fight to maintain our Championship placing.’
The vacancy arose when Pars parted company with Michael Tidser earlier this week after just 60 days and 11 matches in charge.
Dunfermline are currently languishing ninth in the ten-team Championship, six points ahead of bottom club Airdrie and one behind Hamilton. They have no game this weekend.
