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Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy is backing his opposite number to turn things around at Wanderers.
The Tractor Boys host the Whites with both sides on a poor run of form.
But McCarthy believes Wanderers are better than their lowly league position and having experienced pressure in his career, he is confident Lennon has the attributes to deal with his current situation at the Macron Stadium.
McCarthy said: “They are not playing as badly as their position suggests.
“Neil Lennon is a good guy and he’ll have dealt with huge pressure when managing Celtic.
“I played for Celtic and know the expectancy up there.
“That will have been far greater pressure than managing Bolton, even with the position that they’re in.
“He’ll be looking at us thinking ‘they’re having a tough time’.
“We’re playing a team that’s in the bottom three.
“What I don’t want is for people to think that we’ll just turn up and win, because that never happens.
“These (Bolton) have just drawn against Leeds and Preston.
“They’ve got good Championship players, they’re no mugs, and so we have to be careful and not think that they are just going to roll over.”
The Whites are yet to win away this season but earned a point from a hard-fought Lancashire derby at Preston North End on Saturday.
Lennon is envisaging another tough test in Suffolk against a manager who he ranks as one of the best in the Championship.
Like Lennon, the former Republic of Ireland manager has seen his team struggle for results in recent weeks.
And the Tractor Boys’ goalless draw with Cardiff City on Saturday extended their winless run to eight matches.
But the Whites boss is backing McCarthy to turn things around at Portman Road.
Lennon told The Bolton News: “Mick is one of the best managers in this division.
“You always know with Mick’s teams that they are going to be really difficult to play against.
“They got off to a good start but hit a rocky patch.
“The one thing Mick won’t do, though, is panic. He will know what’s wrong and will fix it.”
Lennon saw his team perform well at Portman Road last season before a late Jay Tabb strike consigned them to defeat.
Goalkeeper Ben Amos, Dorian Dervite and Josh Vela are the only three who started that March evening who could do so again tonight.
Whoever Lennon picks, however, he says his players are ready to go to war again and scrap for a positive result.
He said: “We played really well there last year and lost late on.
“I am hoping we can replicate that kind of performance and overturn the result this time.
“But we are going to have to really dig in at times because it is going to be difficult.
“Mick will have them well-organised and well motivated.
“They have good options up front and can come at you from different ways.
“They are also strong defensively and always hard to beat.
“So it will be attritional – pretty much like Saturday night was and we have to make sure we are ready for it.”
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The Tractor Boys host the Whites with both sides on a poor run of form.
But McCarthy believes Wanderers are better than their lowly league position and having experienced pressure in his career, he is confident Lennon has the attributes to deal with his current situation at the Macron Stadium.
McCarthy said: “They are not playing as badly as their position suggests.
“Neil Lennon is a good guy and he’ll have dealt with huge pressure when managing Celtic.
“I played for Celtic and know the expectancy up there.
“That will have been far greater pressure than managing Bolton, even with the position that they’re in.
“He’ll be looking at us thinking ‘they’re having a tough time’.
“We’re playing a team that’s in the bottom three.
“What I don’t want is for people to think that we’ll just turn up and win, because that never happens.
“These (Bolton) have just drawn against Leeds and Preston.
“They’ve got good Championship players, they’re no mugs, and so we have to be careful and not think that they are just going to roll over.”
The Whites are yet to win away this season but earned a point from a hard-fought Lancashire derby at Preston North End on Saturday.
Lennon is envisaging another tough test in Suffolk against a manager who he ranks as one of the best in the Championship.
Like Lennon, the former Republic of Ireland manager has seen his team struggle for results in recent weeks.
And the Tractor Boys’ goalless draw with Cardiff City on Saturday extended their winless run to eight matches.
But the Whites boss is backing McCarthy to turn things around at Portman Road.
Lennon told The Bolton News: “Mick is one of the best managers in this division.
“You always know with Mick’s teams that they are going to be really difficult to play against.
“They got off to a good start but hit a rocky patch.
“The one thing Mick won’t do, though, is panic. He will know what’s wrong and will fix it.”
Lennon saw his team perform well at Portman Road last season before a late Jay Tabb strike consigned them to defeat.
Goalkeeper Ben Amos, Dorian Dervite and Josh Vela are the only three who started that March evening who could do so again tonight.
Whoever Lennon picks, however, he says his players are ready to go to war again and scrap for a positive result.
He said: “We played really well there last year and lost late on.
“I am hoping we can replicate that kind of performance and overturn the result this time.
“But we are going to have to really dig in at times because it is going to be difficult.
“Mick will have them well-organised and well motivated.
“They have good options up front and can come at you from different ways.
“They are also strong defensively and always hard to beat.
“So it will be attritional – pretty much like Saturday night was and we have to make sure we are ready for it.”
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