Boyd: Lennon has nothing to prove at Hibs

Neil Lennon will have nothing to prove at Hibernian despite his nightmare stint in charge of Bolton, according to his old Celtic team-mate Tom Boyd.

Clyde Sport understands the former Hoops boss is set to be appointed as Alan Stubbs replacement.

The Northern Irishman is set to meet Easter Road chief executive Leeann Dempster in Edinburgh on Wednesday afternoon to thrash out the remaining details on his contract but there are no major stumbling blocks to be overcome.

Lennon - who is expected to be unveiled at a press conference on Thursday - has turned down a lucrative move to China to kick-start his career back in Scotland.

He left his last job in charge of Bolton in March, with the team rooted to the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship.

He took over at the Macron Stadium in October 2014 with ambitions to return the team to England's top-flight - only to discover four weeks into his Trotters tenure the club was sinking under crippling debts.

But former Parkhead colleague Boyd believes Lennon will be able to show his real pedigree when he starts work in Leith.

The ex Hoops captain - speaking as he helped promote the annual Celtic Foundation Golf Day, which takes place at Renfrew Golf Club on Thursday, June 23 - said:

"I don't think anybody will have the wrong impression of Neil after Bolton. Everybody knows the reasons for why things happened there.

"There have been plenty examples over the years where managers struggle because of the financial circumstances at a club.

"But he certainly won't have to deal with that at Hibs and he will know what a club like that needs to get back into the Premiership.''

Lennon enjoyed huge success during his four-year stint in charge of Celtic.

The Glasgow giants claimed three straight league titles under his watch, while the 44-year-old also led them to the last 16 of the Champions League in 2013 following an unforgettable group-stage win over Barcelona.

But he quit Parkhead at the end of that season after becoming frustrated with the lack of resources being made available to him by the Hoops hierarchy.

However, he will have to get used to working with a modest budget once again as he prepares to take up the reins from Stubbs in Scotland's second-tier.

His predecessor walked out on his Leith post to take over at Rotherham just 11 days after leading them to their first Scottish Cup triumph in 114 years.

Lennon - who was denied a return to Celtic last month when his old employers opted to name Brendan Rodgers as their new boss - is expected to be joined in his move to Edinburgh by former Parkhead assistant Garry Parker.

The duo's first act will be to prepare a plan to get Hibs out of the Championship - a feat Stubbs tried and failed to do twice.

Tying down highly rated talents like John McGinn and Jason Cummings will be a priority but Boyd reckons Lennon could be the key ingredient to Hibs' resurgence.

He said: "It's great to see Lenny back in Scottish football. He was so successful for Celtic but this will be a new challenge for him.

"Hibs are a massive club and should be in the Premiership.

"They have found it difficult because the Championship is such a tough league to escape and it will be the same again this time with the likes of Dundee United and Falkirk in there.

"But I hope for Neil that he does take them up. I'm sure there will be optimism after their first Scottish Cup win for so long.

"You don't have to look too far to see how successful Neil was at Celtic and he will want more success at Hibs by taking them back to the Premiership.

"He has the likes of McGinn and Cummings there who were both impressive last season. I think a couple of players might leave, with Anthony Stokes and Liam Henderson set to come back to Celtic from their loans.

"However that is the kind of quality he will hope to add to the squad and hope they can make an impact.''