Neil Lennon has vowed his Dunfermline reign will not be “dull”, after joking he predicts “a few conflicts along the way”.
The former Celtic and Hibernian manager had a reputation as a combative midfielder as a player.
And his stints in the dugout have similarly not been short of flashpoints.
Setting aside touchline jousts with Ally McCoist and Jim Duffy, as well as more unsavoury attacks on the Northern Irishman, Lennon received a formal warning from the Scottish FA and was booked twice in just seven matches in charge of the Pars last season.
And the 53-year-old admits he loves the “edge” and “chaos” of management that has been missing from his more sedate work as a television pundit in recent times.
“In a perverse sort of way, I like the chaos a little bit,” he said as he explained his reasons for agreeing a new two-year deal at East End Park.
“It’s stimulating and you miss it.
“I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think I could still make an impact. I wouldn’t be doing it if I didn’t think I had plenty left in me.
“So I had to ask all those questions of myself as well.
“I liked the last couple of months (of last season), where the football wasn’t sparkling, but we got the job (of avoiding relegation) done.
Lennon: ‘I know what I can achieve’
“And now we have a total sort of new page to write – and that’s what we want to do.
He added: “I know what I can do and I know what I can achieve. You never lose that competitive streak in you.
“I miss the edge. All coaches just have that inner edge to be competitive, you know?
“You go and do your games as a pundit and then you get in the car afterwards and you’re like, did you enjoy that?
“Whereas if you’re a coach you’re thinking, ‘what happened there, I might have been right, we need to address this’. And it’s very stimulating.”
Lennon would have had every right to have been left sickened by football management after his seven-month spell with Omonia Nicosia.
Appointed in March 2022, Lennon led the Cypriot side to cup success and qualification for the group stages of the Europa League, where they faced Manchester United, Real Sociedad and Sheriff Tiraspol of Moldova.
And then he was sacked.
Now setting his sights on a return to the Premiership and future qualification for European football, Lennon is determined to excite the Dunfermline fans.
“They’re all experiences,” he added of his recent spells in management, which also include last year’s three-month stint at Rapid Bucharest in Romania.
“I loved Cyprus, it was great. It just ended really quickly, and I couldn’t get my head around that one. But that’s their culture.
‘I can bring that experience to the Pars’
“We had done great. We got into the Europa League, won the cup, played Man United.
“It was surreal at times; how good it was. And it was only (seven) months.
“I’ve still got that experience and I think I can bring that to Dunfermline, and I want to excite people.
“And I may get into a few conflicts along the way. Just to get the crowd going more than anything or get the players going. We’ll see.
“You know what? It won’t be dull!”
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