Friendly fire is a worry for Lennon

Lennon, who was yesterday named Clydesdale Bank Premier League manager of the month for January, is eager for his cosmopolitan squad to return to Glasgow injury-free and protect their five-point lead over Rangers in this weekend's clash with Dundee United.

"From my point of view I'm a wee bit tense this week, just hoping they all come back in decent shape," Lennon said. "Some of the players want to go, which is fine, I wouldn't stand in their way. It's just the timing and the fact they're not qualifying games either."

Scotland meet Northern Ireland in Dublin tonight with Celtic players in both camps and Lennon hopes it is not too competitive. "I wouldn't like to think they'll be kicking each other just yet," he added. "I think it will be a decent game. Home internationals were great back in the day and I think it's not a bad tournament to have, just the timing of it, at this stage of the season, is a bit off."

One player set to be involved for Scotland tonight is Scott Brown. The Celtic captain was overlooked for the Scotland job yesterday, with Craig Levein opting for Kenny Miller, but Lennon believes the 25-year-old is an international skipper in waiting.

Lennon said: "He's a Scotland captain in the making, that's for sure. He's a big-game player and he doesn't get intimidated very often."

Lennon is more than happy for Brown to continue hitting Rangers' El Hadji Diouf with verbal barbs, with a war of words developing between the pair. On Monday, Diouf accused Brown of trying to get him sent off during Sunday's Scottish Cup fifth-round 2-2 draw, before yesterday claiming Lennon goaded him in the tunnel at Ibrox.

Brown yesterday hit back and Lennon is happy for his captain to do the talking, refusing to get directly involved himself.

Lennon said: "I'll leave Scott to sort that out because he seems to be coping with it very well."