RISE AND SHINE: The journey from Rookie to respected leader for Neil Lennon

However, the story of the rise from rookie manager first stepping into the hot seat at Parkhead two-and-a-half years ago to the man who has lead Celtic to their first ever away win the Champions League – with all the sub-plots in his professional and private life attached – would ensure it was big box office.

Celtic majority shareholder, Dermot Desmond, was brave enough to hand Lennon the reins when Tony Mowbray's 10-month tortured tenure had to be brought to a swift end in March 2010.

Now the Irish billionaire will have to show all of his business acumen to keep unwanted predators at bay.

Make no mistake, Lennon's achievements, domestically and now in Europe, on what is a small budget relative to that afforded to others elsewhere in the continent, will have been noted in many boardrooms.

But bringing the SPL title back to Parkhead after an absence of four years was his first serious achievement.

Negotiating the pitfalls of the qualifying route into the lucrative group stages of the Champions League was another.

Showing Europe that he has a team good enough to compete – and win – at this level is quite something else again.

Doing so with a squad which, ostensibly, has been built in the past two years with prudent purchases and astute sales – though Lennon is the first to point out that he is not solely responsible for this, and praises to the hilt his scouting team and chief executive Peter Lawwell – is the real measure of the man.

And while it was the likes of Leicester City – where he is still revered for his efforts as a player under Martin O'Neill – and Norwich City were previously showing interest in trying to lure Lennon from Parkhead, the wave he is currently riding will ensure a higher calibre of suitor will now be looking to sweep him away.

What their examination of his performance in his first managerial position will show is that he has already met and conquered some of the toughest examinations any manager might expect – or in his case, not expect.

He has emerged from trials – literally – and tribulations of death threats, personal attacks, battles with authority and even his own health issues as a more rounded individual.

As the man who brought him back to Parkhead in 2008 after he had ended his playing career down south, Gordon Strachan never tired of saying: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

Given the circus that has surrounded Lennon and his safety in the past couple of years, that is very apt.

Thankfully, the obscene issue of the threats to Lennon and his family – which shamed this small country – have been consigned to the history books, and all the focus is now on his professional life.

In tandem with his own personal and professional development, he is seeing the fruits of his extensive labour in the field of finding, coaching and improving a squad of players who are inspired by his own journey in the game.

The dark days of crashing and burning in places like Braga and Utrecht, and even Inverness, are not forgotten but, instead, used as potent reminders of what can happen if you don't operate at your maximum output.

The beacon of light which led the club out of those dismal moments was Lennon's determination to turn things around.

Speaking to him after disappointing performances, the anguish dripped from every syllable he uttered because his pride had been dented, and, more importantly for him, the reputation of the club on his watch had taken another blow.

At times, it was like conversing with a husk of a man, the heart having been torn from his body.

On a few occasions, the impression was that the fight was being drained from him as he questioned what he was doing wrong.

But though there were moments of doubt – as occurred when Celtic fell three goals behind at Kilmarnock – as others in the city have been heard to say, Lennon does not do walking away.

His strength is his character, and his character is his strength.

So, when he walked through the mixed zone deep within the bowels of the Luzhniki Stadium on Tuesday night en route to the press conference where he would reflect on beating Spartak Moscow on their own patch, the chest was puffed just a few more inches.

The handshakes for the assembled Scottish press were welcomed because, too often, previous managers have used such moments as an opportunity to sneer in a that-showed-you-lot manner.

The Late Show appearance which he so enjoyed in Dublin a week ago was nothing compared to the late, late show his side performed to win this match.

And who could possibly deny Lennon was the man who most deserved to take a bow.

His positive approach, allied to his positive reaction to what was happening in the game, confirmed that he is a winner, not only domestically, but in the big boys' playground of the Champions League.

Which is why even the prospect of sending his side out to face Barcelona in the Nou Camp will not faze him.

Lennon has already shown he is mastering the black art of mind games by claiming the double-header against the competition favourites is akin to a freebie for the Hoops as it is what they do against Benfica and Spartak which will determine their fate in the race for qualification for the Last 16.

But behind that facade, he will already be thinking of ways to get the results that will gain his side more respect in Europe.

The by-product would be to elevate his own reputation into the conscience of even more club chairmen.

What they would have to do is discover the method by which they could sever the heart string which ties him to the club.

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