Lennon reveals £3m bid already made for player as he focuses sights on next season

“I will speak to Peter before then,” said Lennon, “and there’s nothing really to resolve, just a few things that need ironed out, that’s all.”

Those who think Celtic might rein back spending because Rangers will have to do so may be shocked by Lennon’s revelation that Celtic have already made a seven-figure bid for a player.

He said: “I don’t think we’ll be complacent in that aspect. We bid for a player this week, in excess of £3 million, so already the wheels are in motion to bring in players early.”

He added: “And I’m not making that up” – a joking reference to a Rangers claim during the season.

After being presented with the Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League trophy, Lennon symbolically laid it in front of the Green Brigade, that section of fans whose colour and noise is such a feature of Parkhead matches.

They also see themselves as self-appointed keepers of the Celtic conscience and made their point to chief executive Peter Lawwell as he consider the club’s response to Rangers’ predicament.

They showed a banner saying “We have a stand alone policy, live up to your words Peter” accompanied by chants of “Say No to the Newco,” The sustained applause which greeted these gestures showing that the Parkhead crowd have no sympathy for their Ibrox counterparts. Now there’s a surprise. But the symbiotic nature of the two Glasgow giants was demonstrated at the post-match press conference when Lennon was questioned for the umpteenth time about the gap at the top of the table – the 20 points between the Old Firm would have been ten without the deduction for Rangers going into administration.

“We always felt it was going to be emphatic,” said Lennon. “We have been pretty much flawless since October in the league. We had a couple of defeats along the way but the quality and intensity in the play for a good four or five months was excellent. We have broken the clean sheet record.

“I think we just fell short today by one goal of what we scored last year. We have the best disciplinary record in the country and we have won the league by 20 points so that ticks all the boxes for me. We can reflect on what we have achieved now. I’m delighted for the players and supporters and I was delighted with the performance today. It was a fitting way to end the season. I wanted them to finish the season on a high and wanted them to play entertaining football and win the game handsomely and I got all that.

Gary Hooper is one of the several players Lennon would like to “ring fence” for next season. “I think he is happy here but I’m sure there are people out there who will pay for his talent. He is a goalscorer, they are priceless, but we want to keep him here and we will do our very best to do that.

“It was a tremendous individual performance and a great achievement. He is a special player. If you look at Nikica Jelavic [former Rangers striker] and what he has achieved since going to Everton, there is no reason why Gary Hooper can’t do that, in any division, whether that be in the Premier League, or in Spain or Italy.

“He scores big goals in big games. He has a good record against Rangers and he has scored in Europe. He is only 24 and has got the world at his feet so we would like to keep him.”

The gesture to the Green Brigade was an acknowledgement that they have helped bring back ‘the thunder’ as Lennon called it. “I just wanted to say thank you to them because week-in, week-out, they have created a great atmosphere,” he explained. “They sing non-stop, they add colour. Sometimes they are a little bit controversial but, in the main, they have behaved themselves impeccably. They have changed the culture of the stadium. The atmosphere over the last two years in some of the big games has been fantastic and they have been the catalyst for that.

As Celtic celebrated, Hearts and manager Paulo Sergio left Parkhead without making any comment on their heaviest domestic defeat of the season.