Friday 2 March 2018 23:22, UK
Burnley winger Aaron Lennon will not be celebrating if he scores against his old club Everton in Saturday's Premier League contest at Turf Moor.
Lennon, 30, joined the Clarets in January for an undisclosed fee after three years with the Toffees.
Asked if he would celebrate on Saturday should he get on the scoresheet, Lennon said: "No. Just because the fans were great for me - they were so supportive through a lot of difficult times. I wouldn't celebrate if I scored, no."
Lennon, who made 77 Everton appearances in total, returned to action for the Merseyside outfit in August having not been part of the matchday squad for the last nine games of last season.
In May it emerged he had been detained under the Mental Health Act amid concerns for his welfare, with Everton at the time saying he was receiving treatment for a "stress-related illness".
In July, as he thanked various people for their support, Lennon said that which he had received from Everton and their fans had been "incredible".
He joined the club in February 2015 on loan from Tottenham until the end of that season, before making the move permanent later that year.
"Everton was great for me," he said. "The lads, everyone to do with the football club, the fans as well, from the moment I got there, they were great with me.
"I haven't got a bad word to say about Everton Football Club."
Lennon played 19 times for Everton this term - six more than in the whole of the previous season - which included nine league starts.
He left with Yannick Bolasie having recently made his return to action after long-term injury and Theo Walcott newly arrived from Arsenal.
Lennon, holder of 21 England caps, has started each of Burnley's last three games.
And he said: "Obviously I want to play - like everyone else, you want to play each week, and obviously it had come to the time where you start to look at it and think 'I've missed a lot of football in the last year-and-a-half or so and maybe it is time to move on'.
"I think I made the right decision."
After coming "very close" to joining last summer, Lennon is now with a Burnley side lying seventh, three points ahead of ninth-placed Everton.
He says he can see no reason why boss Sean Dyche cannot reach a similar level to that of his old Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino as he has "all the attributes", and is confident some of his new team-mates are destined to become England players.
Regarding Nick Pope, Ben Mee and James Tarkowski, Lennon said: "I think all three at one point will play for England, and sooner rather than later.
"I think all of them will be knocking on the door very soon. For me, they have what it takes to go all the way."
