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Neil Lennon believes the reaction to Scotland's World Cup campaign played a significant part in Steve Clarke deciding to step down as national head coach.
The Dunfermline Athletic head coach described the criticism that followed Scotland's group-stage exit was over the top as expectations were unrealistic given the calibre of opposition Clarke's side faced.
"I thought the aftermath was awful, way too hysterical," Lennon told BBC Scotland.
"Scotland were fortunate to get there, but they deserved that fortune because they've never had much luck over the years.
"You only have to look back over the last 28 years at how unlucky they've been not to qualify for other championships and World Cups.
"They get there and they get the group of death that Scotland always do. They're playing teams ranked five and six in the world. What are people expecting?"
Lennon felt Scotland's performances deserved greater credit, pointing to their display against Morocco and the pressure of securing victory over Haiti.
"The second-half performance against Morocco deserved a penalty," he said. "If you come away with that game with a point, that's an unbelievable result.
"The Brazil game then takes care of itself. They got over the psychological hurdle of beating Haiti. There was a lot of pressure on that game, they had to win it and they did.
"I really don't know what more Steve could do. I'm really disappointed with some pundits and some media people piling on Steve afterwards. I thought it was really poor."
Lennon believes the criticism was one of the key factors behind Clarke's decision to leave the role.
"People are saying now he's the greatest Scottish manager of all time. Whether that's up for debate, I don't know.
"What I do know is he did what it said on the tin. He got Scotland to tournaments. They maybe didn't perform as well as people expected, but for me the World Cup was par for the course.
"They beat Haiti, narrowly lost to Morocco and, maybe, the manner of the defeat to Brazil wasn't great. But sometimes you need that superstar player and Scotland don't have that at the minute."
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The Dunfermline Athletic head coach described the criticism that followed Scotland's group-stage exit was over the top as expectations were unrealistic given the calibre of opposition Clarke's side faced.
"I thought the aftermath was awful, way too hysterical," Lennon told BBC Scotland.
"Scotland were fortunate to get there, but they deserved that fortune because they've never had much luck over the years.
"You only have to look back over the last 28 years at how unlucky they've been not to qualify for other championships and World Cups.
"They get there and they get the group of death that Scotland always do. They're playing teams ranked five and six in the world. What are people expecting?"
Lennon felt Scotland's performances deserved greater credit, pointing to their display against Morocco and the pressure of securing victory over Haiti.
"The second-half performance against Morocco deserved a penalty," he said. "If you come away with that game with a point, that's an unbelievable result.
"The Brazil game then takes care of itself. They got over the psychological hurdle of beating Haiti. There was a lot of pressure on that game, they had to win it and they did.
"I really don't know what more Steve could do. I'm really disappointed with some pundits and some media people piling on Steve afterwards. I thought it was really poor."
Lennon believes the criticism was one of the key factors behind Clarke's decision to leave the role.
"People are saying now he's the greatest Scottish manager of all time. Whether that's up for debate, I don't know.
"What I do know is he did what it said on the tin. He got Scotland to tournaments. They maybe didn't perform as well as people expected, but for me the World Cup was par for the course.
"They beat Haiti, narrowly lost to Morocco and, maybe, the manner of the defeat to Brazil wasn't great. But sometimes you need that superstar player and Scotland don't have that at the minute."
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