Neil Lennon looks for eighth Celtic league win in a row to sway Dermot Desmond's decision

Celtic's largest shareholder and de facto owner Dermot Desmond, right, will call caretaker manager Neil Lennon and tell him whether or not he has the job permanently.

It will help Lennon's cause greatly if his side make it eight SPL victories in a row, extending their longest run of league wins since November, 2008, and it will also do Lennon no harm that he clearly admires the charismatic tycoon.

"He has a presence about him, no doubt about that," said Lennon of Desmond. "He is obviously a very shrewd man, as he came from nothing and now he is a billionaire. He's a very intelligent man, and I would imagine he's a very good poker player because he doesn't give anything away."

Lennon says that Desmond has dealt with him in a straight manner, and rubbished reports of other candidates being approached by the club.

"I know they haven't spoken to anyone, and if they do I am sure they will go through an interview process, but ultimately the decision will be Dermot's. He has been known in the past to pull rabbits out of hats and it wouldn't surprise me if that was to be the case. He will do what he sees fit as best for the club and I will respect that."

If Lennon is not to be manager, the former captain would want see a quick appointment of an experienced man under whom he would be happy to stay on in some kind of coaching capacity. "If it is an experienced manager then I would totally understand that," said Lennon, "but if it is somebody else further down the pecking order then I would have a serious problem with that."

Lennon would have no fear of taking on the role once graced by the likes of Jock Stein, Martin O'Neill and Gordon Strachan.

"Following in their footsteps doesn't intimidate me, it inspires me," he said. "When I came here as a player I wanted to be a winning player, and when I became captain I wanted to be a winning captain, and if I get the manager's job I want to be a winning manager."

The Ross County defeat never ignored, Lennon's ace is the unbeaten league performances since he took over. "The run the players have put together has been fantastic. You can't say that they have been meaningless games, and certainly not meaningless for the other teams, nor could you say Tuesday's Old Firm match was meaningless. There was even added spice with me being in the dugout because no doubt Rangers wanted to put one over on me, and vice versa – that's the law of the jungle here."

Lennon described the 2-1 win as a "brilliant experience" and added: "Is it a better feeling than winning as a player? Aye, it probably is. What pleases me more is that it's a new experience for some of the players and now they know what it is like to win an Old Firm game.

"The intensity, the commitment, all those things you need to win an Old Firm game were there, although I wasn't too happy that we gave the ball away too cheaply at times."

If appointed manager, Lennon has definite ideas about playing personnel for next season. "Some players have swayed me a bit, others haven't. I have a fair idea who I want to keep and there are two or three I want to bring in."

Lukasz Zaluska is one current player who can relax about his future, especially after a vital stop or two when he came on for Artur Boruc against Rangers.

Lennon said: "He was tremendous when he stepped in when Artur had his family bereavement, and then when I left him out his attitude was exemplary. He's definitely got a future at the club."

For his part Zaluska has no doubt that Lennon should be the next manager: "Every player on the staff wants to see him in the job. He is the gaffer, and he has the passion. He really loves Celtic."