Home comforts cost us Bellamy - Lennon

Neil Lennon believes Craig Bellamy would have plumped for a move to Celtic had hometown club Cardiff not swooped when they did. Lennon revealed the Hoops were in the running to land the Manchester City striker on loan right up until he completed his switch to the npower Championship side. Bellamy was also targeted by Fulham and linked with Tottenham and Sunderland but, with his family still based in Wales, personal reasons proved to be the major selling point for Cardiff. Lennon said: "I'm disappointed because we were right in the hunt until the very last minute. He had his reasons for going to Cardiff and he made that clear on Tuesday. "That's where his family is and he has been away from his family for quite a while. He's got a young family as well and would have had to take all of that into consideration. We were well in there for a long while." Asked if Bellamy would have opted for Celtic had Cardiff not been an option, Lennon added: "I think so. I think we would have been the best option he had."

Source: PA