Monday 13 June 2016 10:31, UK
New Hibernian boss Neil Lennon says promotion to the top flight is his main priority for next season.
The former Celtic manager signed a two-year contract at Easter Road on Wednesday as the Scottish Cup winners found a replacement for Alan Stubbs, who joined Rotherham on June 2.
Stubbs departed Hibs having delivered the Scottish Cup to Leith for the first time in 114 years with a dramatic 3-2 victory over Rangers in the first final between two lower-league clubs.
And now Lennon, who spent 18 months in charge of financially-troubled Bolton, is relishing the opportunity to continue Hibs' revival, starting with the qualifying campaign for next season's Europa League.
Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ, he said: "I'm very excited and I think it's a fantastic club, one of the biggest in Scotland, and off the back of winning the Scottish Cup there is a real feel-good factor around the club.
"There is a good squad of players here and my challenge now is to get Hibs up into the Premiership. It's going to be difficult but not beyond us, I'm very excited about it.
"I've always had admiration for the club, obviously from the affinity with my playing days and managing days with Celtic. I know the club very well.
"I've had a look at the facilities, I know the stadium, and the training ground is as good as it gets, and it's a club that I've always had a soft spot for.
"But I know it's a major job I've got on my hands off the back of following what Alan Stubbs has done, and I'd like to continue in that same vein.
"I think the potential here at the club is huge. It's a big-city club as well which is another attraction. It's got a big fan-base and we have to make them competitive and hard to beat."
Lennon insists he has no problem with critics reviewing his time at Bolton, where he kept the club in the Championship against the odds in his first season.
The Irishman believes the experience has been as beneficial as winning three successive Premiership titles with Celtic and guiding the Hoops to the last 16 of the Champions League.
"You are going to get judged anyway, but I think most people know the circumstances at Bolton were almost impossible to work in with the financial trouble that they found themselves in," he added.
"They did have relative success in the first season, the second season was difficult because we had virtually no money to spend, we had to cut the wage bill by 50 per cent, but we did have success in bringing through academy recruits who are assets to the club now that they never had before.
"It was a real experience. You learn from good experiences, you learn from bad experiences, and it's certainly made me a better all-round manager now. Again, people can judge what they like on the Bolton scenario, the future now is with Hibs and I hope to prove a lot of people wrong."
Lennon now has the task of building on the momentum at his new club after the historic Scottish Cup victory at Hampden Park on May 21.
He insists that success played no part in his decision to replace Stubbs, but he is relishing the challenges ahead with Dundee United, Dunfermline and Falkirk all hoping to secure that automatic promotion spot next season.
"It had no real relevance on taking the job. For the supporters it was monumental, the first time in 114 years, and believe me they've been taking a lot of stick for not winning the cup for a long, long time," he said.
"Great for the players, great for Alan, it was a great achievement, but the remit is to get promotion, to get out of the Championship, and back where we feel Hibs can thrive, and that is in the top division."
