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          Neil Lennon confident of steering Bolton off bottom and into playoffs

          • Richard Jolly, ESPN.com writerOct 13, 2014, 12:08 PM ET

          Neil Lennon has set his sights on making the Championship playoffs after vowing to bring Celtic's winning mentality to Bolton.

          The Northern Irishman, who won three Scottish titles with the Glasgow club, was unveiled as manager of the Championship's bottom club on Sunday.

          Bolton have only won once all season and are six points from safety but Lennon said at a news conference: "It is a great feeling to be back in football again. I am delighted."

          Wanderers were relegated from the Premier League in 2012 and now prop up the second tier after losing eight of their first 11 games.

          But Lennon is targeting a top-six finish, adding: "It is a long way off but we are capable of doing it. We have to get out of the bottom three and go from there."

          The former Crewe, Leicester and Nottingham Forest player won five major trophies during his time in charge at Parkhead, which he believes helps to explain Bolton's decision to hire him.

          He said: "They want to bring a winning mentality to the team, the club, not just the first team. It was in our DNA at Celtic to win. A draw wouldn't be satisfactory.

          "Over the 14 years as a player, coach and manager, I was used to that. We want to try and instill that."

          Lennon said he was convinced he wanted the job after his first interview with chairman Phil Gartside.

          He added: "Once I had spoken to Phil on Wednesday, my mind was made up.

          "Just a case of me persuading Phil and Mr Davies [owner Eddie Davies] I was the right man for the job. It has been a frantic few days."

          Lennon has been joined by his former Celtic assistants Johan Mjallby and Garry Parker and hopes the Swede can improve the back four.

          He added: "That was his speciality, with Celtic we had a decent defensive record and Johan was a huge facet of that. He knows the game and is a great buffer for me as assistant."