Fan tries to attack Celtic boss Lennon

Celtic manager Neil Lennon found himself at the centre of yet more unwanted attention as a fan tried to attack him during the Scottish Premier League match away to Hearts on Wednesday.

Gary Hooper had just put Celtic two goals in front at Tynecastle ground when a fan jumped out of the Hearts section of the main stand and headed for Lennon, stood on the touchline.

But stewards intervened and the supporter was eventually taken away by police in a match Celtic, second behind leaders and arch Glasgow rivals Rangers, needed to win to keep the title race alive with one more game of the season remaining.

They got the win they needed, but it was the incident that involved Lennon that dominated people's minds afterwards.

Celtic assistant manager Johan Mjallby said the attack was a dark day for Scottish football.

"What happened to Neil is an absolute disgrace and I've never seen anything like it. Neil was surprised and shocked because obviously he's had death threats," the former Swedish international said.

"Obviously he's a bit shaken but ok. It's a dark day for Scottish football."

"I saw someone coming and we knew we had to react first but we were a bit shocked."

"Neil has been under death threats and obviously the guy could have had anything in his hands. It's shocking."

"We have to wait and see how Neil reacts to this. It's too early to say how he's going to react. I haven't really had time to speak to him much."

"You see things like this on the TV, but I haven't ever witnessed anything like this myself. I'm shocked."

The Scottish Premier League has promised there will be a full investigation into the matter.

"I was absolutely shocked and appalled by the incident. We will be investigating it thoroughly," chief executive Neil Doncaster said.

"We'll be talking to the police and both clubs."

The Scottish Football Association said the incident had been 'wholly unacceptable'.

"The safety of players, club officials and match officials is paramount on or around the field of play, and this clear breach of security is a matter I will be discussing with SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster tomorrow," chief executive Stewart Regan added.

Last month police revealed Lennon was one of three prominent Celtic supporters to whom parcel bombs had been addressed.

Bullets were posted to Lennon earlier in the season and a suspicious package addressed to him was intercepted in March.

Historically, many leading football clubs in Scotland have drawn their support from either the Catholic or Protestant communities in the cities where they are based.

Most Celtic fans are drawn from Glasgow's Catholic community.

Lennon, a Catholic who received death threats while playing for Northern Ireland, where the majority of the population are Protestants, was also beaten up in a Glasgow street while on a night out in September 2008.