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Danny Lennon

Name:
Daniel Joseph Lennon
Born: 6 April 1970, Whitburn (Scotland)
Height: 5.07 ft
Weight: 10.10 st
Position: Midfielder

Representative Honours: Northern Ireland: 4 B Caps (1995-1998).
Club Honours: (with Raith) Scottish League Division One Champion 1994/95; (with Partick) Scottish League Division One Champion 2001/02; Scottish League Division Two Champion 2000/01.

Club Career:
Teams
Seasons
Signed
Fee
League
FA Cup
FL Cup
Other
Hutchison Vale B.C.
-
Youth
-
-
-
-
Hibernian
87/88-93/94
Aug-87
Youth
19(18)/ 2
3(0)/0
-
-
Raith Rovers
94/95-98/99
Mar-94
£30k
151 (8)/15
6(0)/1
3(0)/0
6(1)/5
Ayr United
99/00
Aug-99
Free
3 (4)/ 1
-
-
1(0)/0
Partick Thistle
99/00-02/03
Dec-99
Free
86(11)/12
13(0)/2
3(0)/2
2(0)/2
Gretna
03/04-04/05
Jul-03
Free
5 (5)/ 0
0(1)/0
-
2(0)/0
Workington
06/07
-
Free
1 (-)/ 0
-
-
-
Cowdenbeath
06/07-07/08
Nov-06
Free
2 (1)/ 0
-
-
-
TOTALS
-
£30k
259(45)/30
22(1)/3
6(0)/2
11(1)/7

Biography:
Scottish-born midfielder Danny Lennon came to the fore with Jimmy Nicholl’s successful Raith Rovers side of the mid-1990s. Eligible for Northern Ireland through his grandmother, Lennon started his career at Hibernian as a teenager in 1985, but found his chances at Easter Road limited. Nicholl stepped in to sign the then 23-year-old for a £30,000 fee late in the 1993/94 season as Raith unsuccessfully fought relegation from the Premier Division.

Lennon’s second season at Stark’s Park proved almost perfect. The First Division championship was claimed by single point ahead of Dunfermline to secure an immediate return to the Premier Division. The club also claimed the Coca-Cola Cup, defeating Celtic on penalties in the Final. Lennon played in all four games en-route, scoring in a quarter-final win over St Johnstone, but he missed the big day through injury. That same season Lennon was selected for Northern Ireland ‘B’ for a February friendly with his homeland.

Raith’s Cup success earned them a place in the UEFA Cup, where in the third round they faced Bayern Munich. Trailing 2-0 from the home leg, Lennon scored from a free-kick to give Rovers the lead at the Olympiastadion though the German giants eventually triumphed 4-1 on aggregate. Lennon’s league form was equally as scintillating. He scored ten times in all as Raith achieved mid-table security and his passing ability brought him many admirers and a second Northern Ireland ‘B’ cap against the Norway Olympic side.

Lennon’s continued good form over the following few seasons brought him two further ‘B’ caps, in wins over Portugal Under-21s in 1997 and the Republic of Ireland in 1998. However, when Raith were back in the Scottish First Division he became a target for fans frustration. In August 1999 Lennon transferred to Ayr United where he stayed only briefly before he moved to a Partick Thistle side wallowing in the Second Division. Lennon was club captain in their successful return to the Premier League in 2002.

The following few seasons saw Lennon suffer a range of injuries and in July 2003 he joined Gretna, ostensibly as Youth Development Officer. He did however make a few appearances in the club’s Third Division title winning side of 2005. He returned to the field of play with Workington in 2006 before joining Cowdenbeath as player/assistant-manager that November. Lennon stepped up to become manager following the clubs relegation to Division Three at the end of 2007/08 and led them to consecutive promotions in 2009 and 2010.

In June 2010 Lennon was appointed manager at SPL St. Mirren and in March 2013 he led them to a League Cup final win over Hearts, their first major trophy in 26 years. He was not offered a new contract at the end of the 2013/14 season. The Scottish FA announced his appointment as temporary national Under-21 manager in February 2015 and he returned to full-time management with Alloa in April and helped the Wasps stave off relegation following success in the play-off. He resigned in December following a poor run of form.

Lennon was appointed interim-manager at Airdrie when their manager Eddie Wolecki Black suffered a stroke during a March 2016 match with Cowdenbeath, and he led the Diamonds through to the end of the season. 

A lenthy spell in charge of Clyde began in November 2017, and he led them to promtion from the bottom tier via the play-offs in his first season. In 2019 he made a brief return to playing when he brought himself off the bench during a Glasgow Cup match against Celtic Colts.

Northern Ireland B Cap Details:
21-02-1995 Scotland......... A L 0-3 FR
26-03-1996 Norway Olympic XI H W 3-0 FR
28-03-1997 Portugal Under-21 H W 2-0 FR
11-02-1998 Rep. of Ireland.. A W 1-0 FR

Summary: 4/0. Won 3, Drew 0, Lost 1.

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