Neil Lennon insists Celtic not trying to drive Scott Brown out of the club

The midfielder, signed from Hibernian in 2007, has agreed personal terms to extend his contract which runs out at the end of the season but talks have stalled.

At the pre-match press conference at Celtic Park ahead of today’s visit of St Mirren in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League, Lennon first dealt with the emergence this week of the proposal for former manager Gordon Strachan to come to Parkhead in a mentor role, two months after the idea had been abandoned because a deal could not be struck.

Lennon then moved on to the increasingly strange situation surrounding Brown, who is back in training after recovering from an ankle injury, and reiterated the impasse was due to the fee demanded by the player’s advisors.

“I was surprised that it [the Gordon Strachan story] came out this week because it was done and dusted eight or nine weeks ago,” he said. “I don’t know where it came from and I don’t know why it came out at this time. And then we had the Scott Brown story that we are forcing him out which is complete nonsense. I think he would like it resolved. It is a good contract, a lengthy contract and it shows our commitment to him.

“I think both sides can make it happen so the sooner it is done the better. I would be disappointed [if Brown signed a pre-contract with anyone] but at the end of the day players have to look after themselves as well at times. The last thing I want or the club wants is for Scott to walk out of the door on freedom of contract. At the minute I am confident [that won’t happen] but you just never know in football.”

Lennon admits that agents and advisors can hold the key to transfer deals in the modern game. “I think they can make or break deals and spoil things,” he said. “This is a negative slant on it. There are a lot of good things that agents do in the game. But sometimes they can get in the way and sometimes they can influence a transfer one way or the other. We need to have a resolution with his advisors.

“I am very keen [to keep him]. If you look at his playing record under us, we win more games than not when Scott Brown is playing. He has been a very influential player in the last year and a half and his own bravery and commitment has been detrimental to him with regards this injury. He kept playing when he probably shouldn’t have done. But he is feeling good now and is training. It might be a bit early for him tomorrow but we are hoping for the Atletico Madrid game [next week] and the coming league games.”

A win over St Mirren will see Celtic close the gap behind league leaders Rangers to four points, before Ally McCoist’s side visit Kilmarnock tomorrow.

Lennon is hoping for a less fraught 90 minutes than the 2-1 win over Dunfermline in midweek. He admitted his regret at becoming involved in a verbal confrontation with a disgruntled fan at the end of a game which had finished nervously after the visitors scored with four minutes remaining. “I am annoyed with myself,” said the Irishman. “It is something I shouldn’t have done. I was irked by some of the comments towards the players, having played so well. People suffer from amnesia sometimes, they forget the first 80 or so minutes of the game and only want to concentrate on the last few minutes.” Lennon need only look across to the St Mirren dugout today for evidence of how experience can help a young manager, with Danny Lennon describing assistant Tommy Craig as “one of his best signings”.

St Mirren manager Lennon brought in Craig in the summer and has credited his 61-year-old assistant with a significant role in St Mirren’s subsequent improvement. “At the lower league with Cowdenbeath I had a free hand in there and I learnt from my mistakes,” the 41-year-old said. “Getting the opportunity to manage in the SPL was a great learning curve for myself personally and I knew quickly you have to get things right, off the park as well as on it.

“One of the best signings that I’ve made has certainly been wee Tommy Craig coming in, just with that wealth of experience, not only in football but in life. He has been absolutely fantastic for myself, but none more so than St Mirren Football Club.”