TODAY will begin just like any other Saturday morning for Danny Lennon. 

From darkness into light, the humble setting of an artificial pitch outside Livingston’s Tony Macaroni Arena will once again be his sanctuary, the fairly modest task of coaching Bathgate Thistle’s 2007 youngsters into battle with rivals Blackburn the source of his inner contentment. It’s a scene that will have Lennon there as a coach and a father as 10-year-old Kruz takes to the frosty field, a familiar ritual performed with passion and diligence as his faith in the hunt for a footballing path of righteousness is tested.

Once the Paisley god who delivered St Mirren’s first League Cup only to lose his job little over a year later, Lennon’s inability to practise his craft has seen him spend more Saturdays shopping with wife Yvonne since than standing in a dugout. Temporary stints at the Scotland U21s and Airdrieonians join an eight-month spell at Alloa Athletic across an otherwise drifting three-and-a-half-years. Yet, salvation can be found in the most unusual of places, as Lennon may well preach this afternoon as he takes charge of Clyde for the second game of his now busy Saturday.

“My plan is that my wee boy is kicking off at 10.10am at Livingston, so I’ll be there to take that in,” said Lennon ahead of today’s visit of East Fife in the Scottish Cup. “They have an important game against Blackburn, they have taken one off each other already this season so this is a big one. I’m looking forward to it. 

“We will then come back to the house and get a quick change. I can’t wait to get my suit back on to be honest with you. My wife said that to me when I was going for my interview that it was strange to see me in one other than when you get the black one out for a funeral. Then it’ll be down to the stadium, have a quick meeting with the staff, a cup of tea, and a chat about the game plan. 

“We’ll then make sure everyone is there fit and healthy, that nobody is stuck in traffic which can happen at a part-time club. Then, that’s it. It’ll be time to get going.

“I’m really looking forward to it. It’s a really big game to be opening up with. Clyde have a rich history in the Scottish Cup having one it three times. It brings excitement and I want to excite our fans.”

A few hundred will make up his flock at Broadwood to witness the rebirth of the 48-year-old on the back of an unclear few years. Lennon’s time out of the game has offered the chance to see some sort of normality return to his life as his property development business pays the bills, but there was nothing that came close to satisfying the mind or heart of a man with football coursing through his veins.

“I was getting to the table and getting the call, but it wasn’t the call I wanted. You look at getting knocked back and the amount of time you have been out for and you start to doubt yourself. Your confidence goes,” he explained. “I’ve had great quality time with my wife and my boys [Kruz and elder brother Kealin]. They give up so much and I can see it this week already where I’ve not even struck a sentence with my wife. That’s what it takes, but they are always there for you. When the football isn’t there, they are there to pick you up and keep you going. Being out of the game I appreciate even more what I have. 

“It’s difficult, it was even hard listening to the results coming in on 
a Saturday when you’re out shopping and not in the game. You think ‘well I missed out on that job’ or you look at teams that are struggling, and that’s the way the madness of the game is.”

Lennon admits that the desire to get back into the game, particularly after missing out on the Scotland U21 job in February 2015 when he took temporary charge before the arrival of Scot Gemmill, almost drove him to move abroad. Four months spent in the likes of Tenerife and Gibraltar offered him an insight into a different kind of lifestyle, but yet  it was one that deep down the man from Whitburn knew wasn’t right for him.

“It’s an experience I’ll always look back on, but that was a kick in the teeth to not get it,” he says of his experience with the U21s. “You do absolutely everything you can but I’ve to now cash in on that experience. Hopefully I’ve left an impression, you have always to take the positives out of life. I’ve always been like that.

“I got a massive lift from doing the U21s and I absolutely loved that experience.” 

The man who first cut his teeth as a manager nine years ago tells me he has been inundated with messages this week, welcoming him back to the ‘mad house’. It’s a hostile environment he’s well aware of, and is more than ready to thrust himself back into. When the opportunity arose to replace Jim Chapman at Broadwood, the new Clyde manager explains it was an instinctive urge to put himself forward. Almost a calling. 

Unlike the others over the last few years, this was one he was delighted was answered.

“It’ easy to feel sorry for yourself. And while a lot of that has gone through my head, I’ve always tried to keep my mind off it. It’s not been the most pleasant of years, hopefully this will be the start of something new.

“It’s like going back all those years ago when I first got my opportunity at Cowdenbeath. You are buzzing, you are hungry, you are oozing to do well. Eventually the rewards come and you get to manage in the top flight against the best, and at St Mirren I managed to guide them towards their first ever League Cup. I think as players and managers you can have a bit of an ego yourself. 

“You can think ‘Well it’s only a matter of time before another big job comes up’ but there’s quality coaches out there. What I’m pleased to say is that with the break I have now, I’ve got that hunger and passion that I had all those years ago. What I now have is that experience along with it. Some people may question my ambition at becoming a part-time manager in the bottom tier. But I’m absolutely delighted to be here. I feel it’s the right fit for both of us at the moment. We are all hungry for success and have a point to prove. From getting those kicks in the teeth it was terrific to feel wanted again. I was delighted to get the call I wanted this time.

“No doubt when I step into that changing room at 2.50pm having been out for so long I’ll have those butterflies again. It’s a feeling I’ve always loved, so it is. I always will.”