NEIL LENNON last night revealed he and Ally McCoist have long since buried the hatchet after their infamous Old Firm touchline bust-up.

The former Celtic manager and his Rangers counterpart squared up to each other and had a furious exchange at full-time in March 2011 - the last time the two sides met.

And the incident sparked a bitter reaction on both sides of the Old Firm divide

But Lennon, now boss at championship side Bolton, insists both men are now on friendly terms.

And he reckons the powderkeg incident was a natural reaction to the tension surrounding an Old Firm showdown.

He said: "We just had a couple of words. Ally, like myself, [is] entrenched in the club. A lot had gone on that night. There were things I didn't like, there were things Ally didn't like. We had a few words and that was the end of it.

"It made great television and it made great storylines for a long, long time. In 20 years, they'll be showing footage of me and Ally squaring up to each other. We probably realised after that we had behaved like big kids really, but that's what the [Old Firm] games do to you.

"We're still very much in touch. Many times we have shared a beer] and we were texting each other over the Christmas period. Every now and again, I think of him and how he's doing.

"Whether we were rivals or not, there was a healthy respect. It's only people who have been in the job [who] can understand what it's like."

Lennon admitted he would be open to returning to Celtic as manager in the future.

He decided to leave Celtic last summer, having won three consecutive titles with the club, and guided them into the knockout stages of the Champions League during one campaign.

But he admitted he misses the intensity of the Old Firm experience, even though there were alarming moments for Lennon himself during his time in Glasgow, with bullets sent to him in the post on one occasion.

"There's no question I would go back," Lennon said.

"I'm not saying it will ever happen, but if the opportunity came along and I was ready for it, I wouldn't have any hesitation. There is a huge part of me that will always have an affinity with the club.

"It was tumultuous, it was exciting, it was breathtaking at times, it was everything you wanted it to be. There were feelings that you will probably never replicate again in your life.

"There were scenes that you could never replicate in your life at any other club or any other environment. And I'm talking about the big two, those [Old Firm] games. I've been very lucky and fortunate to be the manager of Celtic and to have been successful in doing so.

"As a player, [Old Firm games were good for his health], but as a manager, no. They're very fraught, the build-up certainly, because it means everything to win the game for so many people. I always remember Walter [Smith] saying this, 'you'll feel relief when you win it and you'll feel as flat as a pancake when you lose it'.

and what it's like."