Tony Mowbray leaves Celtic after humiliation at St Mirren

26 March 2010 00:06
Tony Mowbray has been sacked as manager of Celtic and will be replaced by former club captain and reserve-team coach Neil Lennon, the club have confirmed. [LNB]Assistant manager Mark Venusand first team coach Peter Grant have also been removed from their posts after Mowbray met chief executive Peter Lawwell at the Hoops' Lennoxtown training ground on Thursday afternoon. [LNB]Celtic were humiliated 4-0 at St Mirren on Wednesday night - the 13th loss of Mowbray's tenure - leaving the club ten points behind Scottish Premier League leaders Rangers having played two more matches. [LNB] Beleaguered: Tony Mowbray reacts to last night's defeat [LNB]Mowbray said: 'Naturally, I am very disappointed to be leaving Glasgow Celtic. I am very proud to have not only managed but also played for a club with such great tradition and that has tremendous roots in football history. [LNB]'I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all of the players and also to my staff who supported me so well. Finally, I would like to wish the club every success in the future.' [LNB]Ex-West Brom boss Mowbray joined the Bhoys last summer but has failedto live up to expectation, and won just 17 of his 30 league games incharge as well as suffering an early exit from Europe. Celtic paid theBaggies �2million in compensation for Mowbray's services.[LNB]Mowbray played for Celtic as a defender between 1991 and 1995 and replaced Gordon Strachan at Parkhead.[LNB] Down and out: Celtic's Robbie Keane (left) suffers during the loss at St Mirren [LNB]However, the former Hibernian manager was not Celtic's first choice, with Owen Coyle turning the job down and Roberto Martinez also reportedly approached.[LNB]Mowbray was charged with bringing an attractive brand of football to Parkhead, which fans felt was lacking towards the end of Strachan's reign.[LNB]The new manager suffered an early setback when Celtic lost the first leg of their Champions League third qualifying round match to Dinamo Moscow.[LNB] Mission impossible: Mowbray was appointed to bring attractive football to Parkhead but failed to mount a credible SPL title challenge or European campaign [LNB]They bounced back in the second leg to set up a play-off round tie with Arsenal but were thrashed 5-1 on aggregate.[LNB]Things initially went well in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League but Celtic's Europa League campaign never recovered from an early setback and they crashed out of the competition before the end of the group stage.[LNB]Replacement: Neil Lennon will take charge until the end of the season [LNB]Their SPL campaign began to unravel after they lost the first Old Firm derby of the season at Ibrox.[LNB]They tossed away leads in a series of games as defensive frailty began to undermine their title bid, while they also crashed out of the Co-operative Insurance Cup at home to Hearts.   [LNB]By January, they were seven points adrift in the SPL and Mowbray set about dismantling the squad, bringing in eight new players during the transfer window.  [LNB]The shock arrival of Robbie Keane on loan from Tottenham was greeted by thousands of jubilant fans on transfer deadline day.   [LNB]Butthe Republic of Ireland international's debut summed up Mowbray'sreign, Celtic losing at Kilmarnock for the first time in nine years.   [LNB]Keane'sgoals almost single-handedly won Celtic games in both the SPL andActive Nation Scottish Cup but he could not prevent them slipping 10points behind Rangers following last month's third Old Firm derby ofthe season. [LNB]Despite results, Mowbray repeatedly refused to deviate from his passingprinciples but last night witnessed the first admission his footballphilosophy was perhaps not suited to the Scottish game.[LNB]But he also could not resist a dig at Rangers in the process,telling BBC Scotland: 'Rangers have been very consistent - they haven'tlost four goals in any game. They set up differently - maybe that's theway to go.[LNB] Early exit: Eduardo dives to win a penalty against Celtic in their Champions League play-off, but the Gunners thrashed Mowbray's men 5-1 on aggregate [LNB]'Maybe it isn't a league for trying to force thegame and be expansive - maybe it is a league for playing defensive,negative football and having quality up front to counter-attack.'[LNB]Mowbrayhad a long playing career at Middlesbrough before his switch to Celticand later moved on to Ipswich, where he took his first steps intocoaching. He had a brief spell as caretaker boss at Portman Road afterthe sacking of George Burley before becoming a manager in his own rightat Hibs.[LNB] Seeing red: Scott Brown is sent off against Rangers in the recent Old Firm derby [LNB]Mowbray led the Edinburgh club to back-to-back top-four finishes in the SPL in 2005 and 2006, after which he left for West Brom. After losing the Coca-Cola Championship play-off final to Derby, the Baggies won the title and were promoted the following season.[LNB]But Mowbray's attacking philosophy cost them dear and they finished bottom of the Barclays Premier League last season.[LNB]Former Celtic winger Davie Provan fears the club could struggle to find a top-class manager to replace Mowbray who would meet the high expectations of the supporters. [LNB]Ex-skipper Paul Lambert has been installed as the bookmakers' favourite but stated recently he has no desire to return to the east end of Glasgow. [LNB] Provan pointed out that previous targets Coyle and Martinez also turned down the job before Mowbray was installed in the hotseat last summer. [LNB]Favourite: Norwich manager Lambert[LNB]He said: 'It's no surprise that Celtic have taken the action they have. Now it's just a matter of where they go from here. [LNB]'I think it's fair to say it's a job, at the moment, that does not hold the type of appeal that it had when Martin O'Neill came to Glasgow. [LNB]'As recently as the summer, you need to remember that both Owen Coyle and Roberto Martinez were approached to come to Celtic and neither wanted to take up the challenge. [LNB]'It's going to be pretty difficult for Celtic to identify a top-class manager to fill Tony Mowbray's position. [LNB]'I think it's going to be a difficult appointment for Celtic in terms of getting the right type of manager, given the expectations of the Celtic support.'[LNB] Asked what Lennon's immediate task is, Provan added: 'Just to bring a bit of feelgood factor back to the club. [LNB]'I don't think Neil would be a serious candidate for the job in the long term, although I would hope he could become part of the coaching staff.[LNB] 'Celtic have time on their side but they don't want to leave it too long.' [LNB] St Mirren 4 Celtic 0: Dorman shuts the title door on embarrassed BhoysGone? Celtic boss Mowbray edges closer to the sack after St Mirren woeVIDEO SPECIAL: Chelsea ship six at Rotherham, United floored by Saints, Coventry crush Liverpool, Gunners Yorke-d by Dwight - Sportsmail reveals the results clubs would rather forgetCELTIC FC

Source: Daily_Mail