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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Mark Walker

Omonia Nicosia to thrash out Neil Lennon compensation deal as reasons for sacking come to light

OMONIA NICOSIA have revealed they will thrash out a compensation deal with Neil Lennon in the next few days after going into more details about why they sacked him after just seven months in charge.

The former Celtic and Hibs manager was surprisingly shown the door by the Cypriot side just days after he was seconds away from holding Manchester United to a draw at Old Trafford in the Europa League.

Omonia initially issued a short statement about his departure following a defeat to Nea Salamis that left them seventh in the table.

However, club spokesman Andreas Dimitriou expanded on why they made the shock decision.

He said: "He has a contract with some conditions and it is a matter that is handled by the management and in the next few days this chapter will be closed.

"We have said several times that in the team there is a daily evaluation for everyone at the club. No one escapes this process. In Mr Lennon's assessment, we made a decision which is never easy.

"With Mr Lennon we have achieved quite a lot and he should be respected. He won the cup, we entered the European group stages, we played competitive games in Europe. He wrote his name in the team's history.

"But the decision was made mainly due to the team's continued competitive instability and performance. We suffered four defeats in seven matches. These were the most basic reasons for making this decision.

"In football, partnerships sometimes end, but the memories will connect us forever.

"We want to quickly complete the process for a replacement. We are in the evaluation phase and the individual interviews will follow and then the selection. We want to have our new coach at least by Saturday.

"Our goal is for the new young coach to have a personality and to know the philosophy of Omonia - to play attacking football and utilise our young talents.

"The assessment also includes the footballers. No one escapes this process. Everything is recorded.

"With regards to the fans, we understand their feelings. It's early, but we have to recover in the league, get consecutive victories and get closer to the top."

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