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21st August 2024
10:45am BST
Neil Lennon has lost his job as manager of Romanian side Rapid Bucharest after just three months in charge at the club.
The former Northern Ireland midfielder had a difficult start to his SuperLiga campaign, drawing five and losing one out of six - a return that leaves the three-time champions 12th in the 16-team table.
An official statement posted to the club's website this morning said: "Rapid parted ways with Northern Irish coach Neil Lennon today, after only six stages of the current season of the Romanian SuperLiga.
"Arriving this summer, Neil Lennon did not manage to get any "official" victory on the bench of Rapid, finishing five times in a tie and losing one match, the one with Petrolul, from Ploiesti.
"Along with Neil, other members of his staff will also leave, Iain Brunskill, Andrew Liddell or Kyirakos Televantos.
"We thank him for all his dedication and energy on the Rapidu bench, especially since he has been through difficult times lately, and we wish him much success in the future!"
The 53-year-old had been at home in Northern Ireland earlier this month following the death of his mother.
Lennon had been out of work for a year before moving to Romania earlier this summer.
The Lurgan-born sportsman managed the club he previously captained, Celtic, from 2010 to 2014.
After a successful spell at Bolton Wanderers, he returned to Scotland in 2016 as Hibernian boss, leading them to promotion back to the Scottish Premiership in his first season and European qualification in his second season.
He returned to Celtic for two years in 2019 before moving to Cyprus in 2022, where he won the Cypriot Cup with club side Omonia Nicosia.
Earlier this year, Lennon claimed that he narrowly missed out on the Ireland job.
“I was close to the Ireland job and I was disappointed to miss out on it,” he told the Scottish Sun.
“The feedback was positive but they said they wanted to go with someone who had international experience.”
Former Iceland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson was appointed Republic of Ireland manager in July, and will lead out the team for the first time against England at Aviva Stadium on 7th September 2024.
