GLENN Loovens doubts whether “ruthless” Neil Lennon will allow Wanderers to slip back down the Championship.

The Sheffield Wednesday skipper is reading nothing into a couple of sub-par performances from Bolton, which have checked their surge up the table since Christmas, as he leads his side into battle at Hillsborough this afternoon.

Loovens played under Lennon for two-and-a-half years at Celtic and has warned his opponents to expect fireworks if they start to let standards slip.

"He sounds totally different than he does on the television, I can assure you of that,” he said. “He's the type of manager who will be on your toes.

“He will be friendly with you but you have to perform. He can be ruthless as well. I think he's got everything that a top manager has to have.

"Sometimes you need to be ruthless and he's got that in him.”

Wednesday were unlucky not to take more than a point from the Macron Stadium when they visited in September – but the Dutchman reckons they are a very different proposition now than they were under Dougie Freedman.

“They have picked up a lot of points lately and I know the manager well,” he said. “I know what he is like and he will have them fired up like he does for every game.

“He won't let people have time to slack. He will be right on their toes. It will be a totally different game so we have to be prepared for it.”

Loovens witnessed first-hand Lennon’s transition from coach to manager as he played alongside him at Parkhead, initially under the stewardship of Gordon Strachan.

And the experienced defender believes Lennon really came into his own when he was elevated to the top job, after a disastrous spell for Tony Mowbray.

"He was assistant manager at Celtic under Gordon Strachan and he then took over and was my manager for the last two-and-a-half years,” he said.

“You didn’t really see him as management material at the time because Gordon was so dominant. But when Neil took over, you could see he played under great managers and I think he picked up a lot from them and brought it into his management.

"He got the best out of the players every week.”

Loovens has kept in touch with Lennon and his coach Garry Parker and has already been impressed with the job the former Celtic staff have done at Wanderers since arriving in October.

In fact the defender believes Lennon could yet manage in the Premier League.

“He did a terrific job at Celtic and now at Bolton,” he said.

“I don't see any reason why he can't manage in the top flight. I think he's happy at the moment where he is and I'm sure he will get them going again.

“I don't know their dressing room but if he thinks they need a bit of experience, I'm sure that's what he's done. He's capable of seeing what his team needs.”