Neil Lennon: 'Players gave me consistency, quality and wins'

When the Irishman took over from Tony Mowbray on an interim basis on 25 March, the day after a cataclysmic 4-0 defeat at St Mirren, Celtic trailed their Old Firm rivals by 10 points with the Ibrox side having played two games less.

Lennon's rejuvenated Celtic side – notwithstanding a shock Active Nation Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Ross County – have chipped away at that lead, helped by their first win of the season over Rangers at Parkhead last week.

At Tynecastle, Robbie Keane's 16th goal since arriving on loan from Tottenham in January and Zheng Zhi's first since he signed as a free agent last August, extended Celtic's winning run in the SPL to eight games. With Rangers drawing 3-3 at home to Motherwell the gap was reduced again.

However, while Lennon is happy to place his league record in front of the Parkhead board as supporting evidence in his quest to land the manager's job on a full-time basis, the points differential means little to him.

"I wouldn't lay too much on that," he said. "I'm sure that, when Rangers saw the end in sight, subconsciously they took their foot off the pedal. I know it happens, because I've experienced it myself.

"I'm just delighted to have finished the season with an eighth SPL win. I could not have done it without the players. They have been brilliant.

"They have proved to themselves what they can do, and proved it to the fans that they are well capable of putting in a challenge.

"What I was pleased about in the run-in was the consistency, the quality and the wins."

Lennon revealed that Zheng was looking for an answer on his own future minutes after the final whistle. The former Celtic captain said: "We have an option on his contract, and he actually asked me after the game what was happening. "I had to tell him, 'I can't give you an answer, son.' It must be a difficult situation for him. He looked much more comfortable when he moved into a central position. Technically, he is very, very good and, when he played against Motherwell recently, he was excellent. His goal against Hearts was wonderful, and I felt he could have got another one or two with the positions he got into."

Meanwhile, club captain Scott Brown insists Lennon's inexperience should not prevent him from being appointed manager of Celtic. Brown believes Lennon has done enough to be given the chance despite having no previous first-team management experience. "Why not start at Celtic?" he said. "He already has started and we have now won eight league games in a row since Lenny came in.

"We have a great team spirit. The lads enjoy his training, they enjoy him around the dressing room and enjoy the pressure he puts us under to perform for the fans. You know there is a line you can't cross, you can have a bit of banter but when you start training, it's serious.

"I hope the board listen to us but at the end of the day it's their decision and we have to go along with that decision. The decision will be made eventually and whatever happens, happens. But we would love Lenny to stay, he's done a great job along with Johan Mjallby."