NEIL LENNON should today be basking in the limelight after leading Celtic to their first SPL title in four seasons.

Instead, he is once again in the spotlight after another stormy confrontation with a referee following his side's defeat in Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final.

The Parkhead manager is already preparing to defend himself against two charges arising from the League Cup Final on March 18 and the Old Firm game the following weekend, the judicial hearings for which will take place tomorrow.

With SFA compliance officer Vincent Lunny studying referee Euan Norris's report on events at the conclusion of Sunday's controversial defeat to Hearts, and Lennon's subsequent comments on Twitter, there could be more trouble coming his way.

All of which combines to provide an unwanted backdrop to what should be a happy picture, focused on Lennon lifting the SPL championship for the first time as a manager.

But his former boss at Parkhead and Leicester, Martin O'Neill, refuses to add his voice to the chorus calling for Lennon to change.

O'Neill has dismissed suggestions that his fellow Northern Irishman needs to temper his behaviour to stay out of hot water.

The former Celtic manager believes he wears his heart on his sleeve – and wouldn't counsel him to change his style.

"He has always been a passionate individual," said O'Neill. "I suppose it all comes down to a matter of personal preference and whether or not you warm to that or not.

"I always thought he was driven and determined and he had to put up with a lot when he was a player at the club.

"People's behaviour on the touchline, or wherever, is not always going to necessarily be accepted by everyone. That is life.

"Neil might find as he grows into the job and goes along that he learns one or two things, but these are decisions that only he could make.

"All you can be is yourself.

"It is an emotive job and there is always pressure."

Pressure which should be eased to a certain degree by the fact Lennon has now achieved his main target.

Clinching the SPL title with five games to spare should have afforded the passionate man from Lurgan a comfort and a sense of relaxation on the park that is not often a ready bedfellow of any Old Firm manager.

While those who have managed Celtic and Rangers and coped with the unique demands of each club will talk readily of the pressure, Lennon's situation is quite unparalleled.

And O'Neill believes that the controversy which stalks him has made his title success all the more laudable.

The 40-year-old celebrated his first championship as Celtic manager at the end of a week in which two men were told to await sentence for a botched plan to mail him nail bombs to Celtic's Lennoxtown training ground facility.

It was the latest in a catalogue of incidents in which Lennon has been targeted.

Back in September 2003, two students were fined after an attack on the then Celtic player in Glasgow's West End. Lennon had been driving, close to his home, when the men chased him in his car before he was attacked.

In September 2008, while a Celtic coach, he was assaulted and left unconscious in Ashton Lane by two Rangers fans who were subsequently jailed for two years.

Last season, Lennon, as Celtic manager, was attacked as he stood on the touchline at Tynecastle.

During that same campaign, in which the league was lost to Rangers by a point, Lennon received death threats and had to be accompanied at all times with bodyguards – one of whom continues to shadow him on matchdays.

Yet, the accusation that Lennon invites controversy lingers.

Last season after a goalless draw at Ibrox, the Parkhead boss drew all manner of criticism for cupping his hands around his ears after enduring a barrage of abuse from the Rangers support.

In certain quarters the criticism that he is central to the trouble that surrounds him because of his manner continues to prevail. It is a theory that his former manager has dismissed.

"I always felt that there was a real 'glass houses' aspect to things when it came to Neil," said O'Neill.

"There seemed to be many times when it was okay to give plenty out to him, but, at the slightest hint of anything from him, people would be up in arms.

"I would be inclined to think of the kind of issues that Neil himself had when he was playing in the SPL.

"He had a lot to contend with when he was playing with Celtic.

"It all seemed to kick off when he was barely in the door. He has had to put up with so much, too, as manager.

"It is a difficult enough job in any case without that additional pressure and I think he has not had too much credit for being able to get on with it while that has been going on in the background."

As a manager, Lennon is no shrinking violet. His touchline antics have landed him in hot water on a number of occasions, and continue to do so.

Lennon had an angry exchange with Calum Murray during Celtic's 3-2 defeat to Ibrox in the last Old Firm game, while he was also in bother for branding Willie Collum's decision not to give Celtic a penalty in the League Cup Final against Kilmarnock as "criminal" .

In a SportTimes interview he also commented prior to a league game against St Johnstone that he was looking for a "decent" referring performance, a statement that was investigated by Lunny to consider if it breached Clause 69, which dictates no comment can be made about match officials ahead of a game.

No punishment is anticipated on that final charge, and a strong defence, involving a QC, will be presented against the other two counts which will be dealt with at tomorrow's hearing.

Then it will over to Lunny once again to decide if Lennon's appearances at Hampden are finally over for the season.