Ally McCoist believes Neil Lennon has been unfairly accused of being 'arrogant' in his role as Celtic boss.

The Rangers legend knows what Lennon has been going through as an Old Firm manager after taking over at Ibrox during a tumultuous period in the club's history. And he believes his old foe has been wrongly labelled during his second stint as Parkhead leader.

McCoist was not surprised when news broke this morning that Lennon had stepped down from his position with the Hoops 18 points off top spot. And he now wants the Northern Irishman to spend quality time with his family as he'll need to decompress.

READ MORE: Neil Lennon resigns LIVE: Celtic manager leaves post after disaster season

He told talkSPORT: "The first thing I say is, hopefully he can get some sanity back in his life and go and enjoy himself and relax with his family for a period. That’s the one thing, looking at Neil, that he needs and wants – so that’s the most important thing.

“He needs to spend some time away from the pressure that is being an Old Firm manager. But in terms of the decision itself, I’m not overly surprised at all. I think the way the season has gone for Celtic this year has effectively been one disaster after another, and there are a lot of people responsible for that."

On being asked who is to blame for Celts failing to nail down 10 in a row, McCoist added: "Neil, being the manager, is obviously one of them, but the people above him as well, and indeed the players have to shoulder a lot of the responsibility.

READ MORE: Chris Sutton urges fans to remember Neil Lennon's all-time legacy

“It was a massive, massive year for them, and it looks like clearly the league has gone – and the league was the big one.

“Everybody at Celtic wanted the magical figure of ten, but for some time now it hasn’t looked like that is going to be the case.

“I’ve always felt there’s been – not from Neil, I may add – an element of arrogance coming from Celtic; they thought it was just a formality to win ten in a row.

“And clearly that hasn’t been the case, and supporters are very, very angry – and it’s cost Neil his job."