Former Celtic boss Gordon Strachan has hailed Manager of the Year Neil Lennon's roll of the dice to return to the Parkhead hotseat.
The Irishman faced the ominous task of succeeding Brendan Rodgers in March 2019 but hasn't flinched en route to four consecutive domestic trophies and a thrilling Europa League run.
Strachan - who managed Lennon as a player - admits he was the only man in the frame to be named as Scotland's finest manager for the 19/20 season.
And the 62-year-old admits his protege would have believed he was "finished" if he wasn't able to keep Celtic 's unprecedented domestic run going upon his return.
Speaking to BBC Sportsound, he said: "When he first came back it wasn't unanimous.
"There were a lot of doubters. He would also have been thinking, 'If I take this job and fail, that's me finished.'
"He then had to deal with this problem of 'Am I going to lose nine in a row?' It was an edgy time at new year. He's dusted himself down with his players and come back and blown the opposition away.
"So that shows he has mental strength, intelligence, he can deal with anything.
"The fact he's left Celtic and went, 'Oops, what have I done?' He's had to deal with that, go to Bolton. And I know when you go to teams like Bolton after being at Celtic, you just don't get the mentality.
"Then he went to Hibs and has come away with formations that suited the players he had. It was fantastic what he did there.
"He's reinvented himself as a manager. And that period at Hibs allowed him to express himself more freely."
Lennon has been candid about the difficulty awaiting him upon his return as looked to gradually shift from Rodgers' possession-based game to a higher tempo style.
And Strachan reckons the 48-year-old's sleight of hand should be lauded as Celtic netted 148 times before the game was halted due to COVID-19.
He added: "He's come back to Celtic and said, 'Well done, Brendan, that's fantastic. But I need to watch football that I really want to watch.'
"Neil had to do his own thing, and tweak what Brendan was doing without anyone really noticing.
"Neil and Celtic are made for each other. It's only right he gets it [manager of the year], for a multitude of reasons."
