MARTIN O’Neill tried to strangle Neil Lennon during an almighty dressing room bust-up, according to a top England striker.
Tony Cottee witnessed the furious bust-up between the Celtic legends when he was starring for the duo’s former club Leicester City.
Cottee recalled the tense half-time moment as he looked back on his career as a guest ‘Let Me Be Frank - ex-Hoops ace Frank McAvennie’s podcast.
Cottee, 59, said: “I came into the dressing room at half time once and Martin was trying to strangle Neil Lennon. They were having a proper row.
“We all pulled the manager off of Lenny – it never got to the fight stage because he was too busy trying to strangle him.”
Cottee, who spent three years at the Foxes under O’Neill and alongside Lennon, says he joined other teammates in wrestling the pair apart.
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But he reckons it showed the passion the two Northern Irishmen had for the game and demonstrated their desire to be winners.
Speaking to Macca - his old West Ham strike partner - Cottee said Lennon has O’Neill to thank for setting him on the road to becoming a successful manager in his own right.
O’Neill, 72, left Leicester for Celtic in 2000 and made Lennon, 53, one of his first signings, bringing him to Parkhead for around £6 million.
He became a mainstay in the team and was part of the side which won a host of trophies under O’Neill, reaching the Uefa Cup final in 2003 in the process.
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And he later returned as manager to replace Tony Mowbray in 2010 winning five league titles, four Scottish Cups and a league cup in two spells.
Cottee said: “We had very strong characters and that was how it was. Lenny went on to become a very successful manager for Celtic and he learned a lot from Martin without a doubt.”
McAvennie, 64, meanwhile shared a hilarious story which summed up the fun side of Lennon and O’Neill’s relationship.
He laughed: “I remember a story from their time at Celtic and Lenny dyed his hair white.
“When he went in, Martin said ‘what are you thinking?’
“Lenny said that he was just trying to be different.
“To which Martin replied: “How about scoring a goal, that’s different.”
McAvennie co-hosts his podcast with former Scottish Sun journo Simon Houston and the latest episode is available now on YouTube, Spotify and Apple.
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