LIFE out of the spotlight is something Neil Lennon has had to acclimatise to since leaving Celtic last summer but the Wanderers boss insists he is settling in just fine.

This evening’s FA Cup clash with Liverpool saw the national media descend en mass on the Macron Stadium for the first time since the Northern Irishman took charge last October.

Lennon is quite used to the attention, having existed in the goldfish bowl of Glasgow for 14 years.

Many were surprised when he swapped Parkhead for a relegation scrap at Bolton in the Championship – indeed, Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers believes his stay at this level will only be a temporary one, regardless of how Wanderers fare this season.

But with his eight-year-old son Gallagher perched on a seat to his left, Lennon was happy to admit he is enjoying a change of pace.

“It has been an adjustment,” he said. “It would be at any club after that length of time – you become institutionalised. I wouldn't say it was like coming out of prison but coming out of that way of life, that intensity.

"You bring it with you, that will to win, that winning intensity, you try to bring it here.

“But what I have liked about the Championship is that most games are a real skill-set challenge for the manager.

“People ask me why I came here and it’s because it is very difficult to walk into a job in the Premier League.

“I look at the likes of Brendan Rodgers, Roberto Martinez, Steve Bruce, Tony Pulis. Paul Lambert, Alan Pardew, Sean Dyche... they have all worked in the Championship and they have all earned the right to work in the Premier League. I've got to earn the right to get there."

One aspect of life Lennon has been keen to change is his living quarters. Confined to hotels for the first few months of his stay in the North West, he has now brought his family together in a home in Bolton.

“I was getting cabin fever - we're in the house now, which is great, isn't it Gal?” he said turning to his son.

“We are really settled already. We're enjoying being back in England. There is a little bit more freedom to enjoy everyday life which is nice.

“I'm not painting a bad picture of Glasgow or Celtic and I loved my time there. But I want to make my reputation here now.”