Modesty can't hide the fact Lennox has all the hallmarks of a legend

The midfielder posed by a yards-long photograph of himself in the bowels of the national stadium and almost immediately declared himself embarrassed to have been included. It would have been more shameful had he not been, but there was still some cause for crimson cheeks.

The blurb printed beneath his image erroneously robbed him of a league title, though it still has his haul at a healthy-sounding ten. In fact he won 11 with Celtic, in two spells at the club which bookended a season in the US with the Houston Hurricanes. "It'll be changed tomorrow they promised," said Lennox with a laugh, having pointed out the inaccuracy.

The sheer wealth of honours accumulated by Lennox makes such mistakes forgivable. He also won eight Scottish Cups, and four League Cups. He scored 273 goals in 571 appearances for Celtic. He is one of a distinguished collection of Scotsmen to have featured in two European Cup finals, and one of few to have scored in a Scotland victory at Wembley.

Yet he still felt uncomfortable to be included in a room populated by the kind of squad which would never have required a goalkeeper. Just as well, because there has not been one inducted yet. Instead we have not one but five managers - Alex Ferguson, Jock Stein, Bill Shankly, Matt Busby and Jim McLean. Pity any who under-performed under the watch of so fearsome a coaching staff. Not that there would likely be any passengers in a team that could be picked from the likes of Graeme Souness, Gordon Smith and Denis Law. Joining the Hall of Fame squad yesterday were a second wave of legends, including Lawrie Reilly, Joe Jordan and Alex McLeish.

"You do kind of think that you don't belong here," says Lennox. "I mean, when you think of some of the faces who are not here. And you look around and you see Jinky Johnstone, John White, Jim Baxter and Denis Law. They are all here too. I have to say I am really thrilled."

The enthusiasm is endearing, and the self-deprecation unwarranted. Lennox was officially declared a Hall of Famer at a dinner in Glasgow on Sunday night. Danny McGrain - himself already recognised in the first batch revealed last year - opened the envelope containing his name and called Lennox onto the stage. This was another episode which had Lennox blushing: "It was a great thrill getting it from Danny because he is one of Scotland's greatest ever players."

As, too, was Lennox, although this was not reflected in the amount of caps he won - a measly ten, between 1966 and 1970. Lennox is one of the main beneficiaries of this Hall of Fame scheme which seeks to recognise those players who were denied entry to the more Scotland-centric SFA Hall of Fame, where one finds those Scotsmen who have earned 50 or more caps. This cut-off point precludes some greats such as Lennox, who played at a time when Scotland could afford to over-look a free-scoring midfielder.

Others, too, had their careers tragically cut short. Over on another wall is a haunting image of John White, the former Falkirk player who made a name for himself at Tottenham but who died after being hit by lightening during a game of golf in 1964. Although he'd already amassed 22 caps, this would not have been enough to warrant his inclusion in the international Hall of Fame next door.

But he featured in this Scottish Football Museum Hall of Fame, already pinned to a wall and exuding the majesty of his fellow inductees. Lennox, here in the flesh, surveyed his companions, and handled the thorny subject of his cap total with the graciousness which is another common quality among those honoured. "There was loads of good players at the time," said Lennox. "Denis Law, Jimmy Johnstone, they were all ahead of me in the queue. It got to the stage where I wasn't even looking when the Scotland team was named."

He starred for Celtic in a time when the Parkhead club dominated the domestic scene but he still regarded the league as a competitive one, and sees signs that the Scottish game might at last be regaining its combativeness. "The Scottish league was a great league in the 1960s and 1970s," he said. "When we won the European Cup, Rangers got beaten in the final of the Cup-Winners' Cup and Kilmarnock were beaten in the semi-finals of the Fairs Cup. I want Celtic to win the league, but it's better if it's a good league for all concerned."

From the vantage point of his seat at Parkhead, where he is a matchday host, Lennox detects the vigour of old is returning to a game abused by an obsession with continental players, few of whom had the skills to merit a place on these walls.

Scottish Football Museum Hall of Fame

INDUCTED 2004

Jim Baxter

Billy Bremner

Sir Matt Busby

Kenny Dalglish

Sir Alex Ferguson

Hughie Gallagher

John Greig

Jimmy Johnstone

Denis Law

Dave Mackay

Danny McGrain

Jimmy McGrory

Billy McNeill

Willie Miller

Bobby Murdoch

Bill Shankly

Gordon Smith

Graeme Souness

Jock Stein

Willie Woodburn

INDUCTED 2005

Charles Campbell

Alex James

Joe Jordan

Bobby Lennox

Jim McLean

Alex McLeish

Alan Morton

Lawrie Reilly

Willie Waddell

John White

George Young