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Neil Lennon is ready to swap the Champions League for the Championship.

Lennon is prepared to quit Celtic and take the manager’s job at Norwich, where he is on the short-list following their relegation.

It is a damning indictment of Scottish football, but Lennon has been overlooked for a succession of Premier League jobs and now Norwich is a real option for him.

The Canaries have got Lennon, Gianfranco Zola and Malky Mackay in their sights as options to replace Neil Adams.

Stand-in boss Adams, who took the club down after the gamble to sack Chris Hughton with a month of the season left backfired, is likely to be offered a role at the club, but Norwich want a senior man to take charge – and want to make a quick appointment.

(Image: Action)

The Canaries also believe appointing Lennon would give them the best chance of keeping former Celtic striker Gary Hooper after their fall into the second tier.

Former Celtic captain Lennon, 42, loves the Glasgow club but believes this could be the end of the road, despite his remarkable success there.

Lennon has been keen on jobs at Cardiff, Sunderland and Everton – but did not get a look-in.

So the only way for him to get a Premier League job may be to take on a lower-division club and get them into the top flight. Norwich now offer that chance.

The Carrow Road side know appointing Mackay would be popular as he is a former Canaries player.

Zola is a glamorous name despite mixed fortunes as a manager, and was a contender before Hughton got the Norwich gig.

But appointing Lennon would be seen as a massive statement as the Norfolk club look to make an instant return to the Premier League.