Danny Lennon is a former association football player and current manager

Manager (association football)

In association football, a manager is responsible for running a football club or a national team. The manager of a professional club is responsible directly to the club president. The position of manager is almost exclusively used in British football...

 of Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 club St. Mirren

St. Mirren F.C.

St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...

. Lennon played internationally for the Northern Ireland B national football team

Northern Ireland B national football team

Northern Ireland B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the Northern Ireland national football team. Primarily seen as a stepping-stone between the Under-21 and Full international teams, the matches are also used to give a run-out for fringe players and to honour Irish...

.

Club career

He began his career at Hibernian

Hibernian F.C.

Hibernian Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Leith, in the north of Edinburgh. They are one of two Scottish Premier League clubs in the city, the other being their Edinburgh derby rivals, Hearts...

, before signing for Raith Rovers

Raith Rovers F.C.

Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Kirkcaldy, Fife. They are members of the Scottish Football League, currently playing in the First Division, having secured promotion from the Second Division as champions in 2009. Rovers have won one national trophy, the...

 for £30,000 in 1993. Lennon was part of the Raith squad that won the Scottish League Cup

Scottish League Cup

The Scottish League Cup is a football competition open to all Scottish Football League and Scottish Premier League clubs. At present it is also known as the Scottish Communities League Cup owing to the sponsorship deal in place with the Scottish Government. In the past it has been sponsored by...

 in 1994, but he missed the Final due to injury. Raith qualified for the UEFA Cup

UEFA Cup

The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

 thanks to winning the League Cup. Lennon scored in their tie against Bayern Munich

FC Bayern Munich

FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....

, briefly giving Raith a 1–0 lead in the second leg in the Munich Olympic Stadium

Olympic Stadium (Munich)

Olympiastadion is a stadium located in Munich, Germany. Situated at the heart of the Olympiapark München in northern Munich, the stadium was built as the main venue for the 1972 Summer Olympics....

.

After leaving Raith in 1999 he played for Ayr United

Ayr United F.C.

Ayr United Football Club are a Scottish association football team based in Ayr, South Ayrshire, that plays in the First Division of the Scottish Football League. Formed in 1910 after the merger of former clubs Ayr Parkhouse F.C. and Ayr F.C...

, Ross County

Ross County F.C.

Ross County Football Club are a Scottish professional football team from the town of Dingwall, Ross and Cromarty. Founded in 1929 they currently compete in the Scottish Football League First Division and play their home matches at Victoria Park. Prior to the 1994–95 season they played in the...

, Partick Thistle

Partick Thistle F.C.

Partick Thistle Football Club are a professional association football club from Glasgow. Despite their name, the club are based in the Maryhill area of the city, and have not played in Partick since 1908...

, Gretna

Gretna F.C.

Gretna Football Club was a Scottish football club that represented the town of Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway, close to the border between England and Scotland...

, Workington

Workington A.F.C.

Workington A.F.C. is an English football club from Workington, Cumbria. They are in the Conference North, and play their home matches at Borough Park, which has a capacity of 3,101 . The club play in red, and are known locally as the Reds...

 and Cowdenbeath

Cowdenbeath F.C.

Cowdenbeath Football Club are a professional Scottish football team based in the town of Cowdenbeath, Fife. They currently play in the Second Division of the Scottish Football League. The club plays its home games at Central Park in the centre of the town which has the unusual feature of a motor...

.

International career

During his time at Raith Rovers

Raith Rovers F.C.

Raith Rovers Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Kirkcaldy, Fife. They are members of the Scottish Football League, currently playing in the First Division, having secured promotion from the Second Division as champions in 2009. Rovers have won one national trophy, the...

, Lennon won four caps for Northern Ireland B

Northern Ireland B national football team

Northern Ireland B is a secondary football team run occasionally as support for the Northern Ireland national football team. Primarily seen as a stepping-stone between the Under-21 and Full international teams, the matches are also used to give a run-out for fringe players and to honour Irish...

. Lennon was eligible to play for Northern Ireland through his grandmother.

Management

Lennon was appointed as Cowdenbeath

Cowdenbeath F.C.

Cowdenbeath Football Club are a professional Scottish football team based in the town of Cowdenbeath, Fife. They currently play in the Second Division of the Scottish Football League. The club plays its home games at Central Park in the centre of the town which has the unusual feature of a motor...

 manager in 2008, replacing Brian Welsh

Brian Welsh

Brian Welsh is a Scottish football player and coach. He played for Dundee United and Hibernian. Welsh managed Cowdenbeath for two seasons and is currently Head of Youth Development at Livingston.- Playing career :...

. Lennon managed the club to two successive promotions despite the club being in significant financial trouble.

Lennon was appointed manager of Scottish Premier League

Scottish Premier League

The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...

 side St. Mirren

St. Mirren F.C.

St Mirren Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Paisley, Renfrewshire who play in the Scottish Premier League, having been promoted from the First Division in 2005–06.St...

 on 7 June 2010, signing a two year contract. Lennon picked up his first win for St Mirren with a 1-0 win over Hibernian FC, courtesy of a goal from Craig Dargo

Craig Dargo

Craig Peter Dargo is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Partick Thistle, having signed a short term contract ending in January 2012. He previously played for Raith Rovers, Kilmarnock, Inverness Caledonian Thistle and St. Mirren.-Early career:Dargo began his career with...

. 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

Gary Teale

Gary Teale is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays as a winger for St. Mirren.Teale started his career in Scotland in 1995 with Clydebank before spending three years with Ayr United...

 from Sheffield Wednesday and Steven Thompson from Burnley FC. He also added exciting Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 players Nigel Hasselbaink

Nigel Hasselbaink

Nigel Hasselbaink is a Dutch professional footballer who currently plays for St. Mirren in the Scottish Premier League, as a winger or striker.-Career:...

 and Jeroen Tesselaar

Jeroen Tesselaar

Jeroen Tesselaar is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Scottish Premier League club St. Mirren.-St. Mirren:On the 14th of July 2011 Tesselaar signed for St. Mirren on a one year deal...

 while replacing long term assistant manager Iain Jenkins

Iain Jenkins

Iain Jenkins is an English-born former footballer who represented Northern Ireland at international level. He is the former assistant manager of St. Mirren-Playing career:...

 with a more experienced coach in Tommy Craig

Tommy Craig

Thomas "Tommy" Craig is a Scottish football coach and former player who is currently the assistant manager of Scottish club St. Mirren. Craig had an 18 year playing career as a midfielder, playing over 100 league games for English clubs and...

. St. Mirren started the season in good form, beating local rivals Greenock Morton 4-2 in the Renfrewshire Cup

Renfrewshire Cup

The Renfrewshire Cup is an annual association football competition between teams in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The final is generally a Renfrewshire derby contested between the two largest teams in the county, Paisley's St. Mirren and Greenock...

 final and beating Aberdeen FC during the first home game of the new season. Lennon agreed a new contract with St. Mirren in November 2011.

External links

• Newcastle Fans profile