Neil Lennon says judge him on merits as Celtic deny approach for Koeman

• Neil Lennon jokes with Rangers manager Walter Smith on the eve of tonight's Old Firm game, at the opening of Mar Hall Golf Course. Picture: PA

The interim manager knows the trick is to convince others of his worth, specifically members of the Celtic board and majority shareholder Dermot Desmond. The club yesterday denied making an approach for Koeman, who has enjoyed periods in charge of Benfica and Ajax but who most recently spent an unproductive spell with AZ Alkmaar. Koeman has been quoted in a Dutch newspaper as saying that the Celtic option was one he must think "very seriously" about.

But while Koeman has the credentials and star-dust quality some Celtic fans might wish for, Lennon is the man in possession for now. After six successive league victories the former midfielder has a perfect opportunity to make a powerful statement with a seventh league win in seven matches. That this could be earned against Rangers at Celtic Park tonight makes it an even more attractive proposition.

Celtic have not defeated Rangers since the Co-Operative Insurance Cup final in March last year. Their struggles against their rivals this season has been one reason why the side languish so far behind Rangers, who were crowned champions nine days ago. But while tonight is clearly significant for a Celtic team aiming to partly amend for what Lennon described as a "soft mentality" against the Ibrox side this season, Lennon claims it is unacceptable to judge his merits entirely on the outcome of this evening's fixture. Some believe his candidacy to replace Tony Mowbray is pinned entirely around tonight's result. But this is as unpalatable to Lennon as the suggestion that he was counted out of the running on the back of a 90 minute nightmare against Ross County in last month's Scottish Cup semi-final.

"It is a bit harsh to pin it all on one game," he said. "But that's just speculation from elsewhere. I don't know what Dermot's decision will be. All he said to me was that he will decide at the end of the season when things are over. All I can do is be as persuasive as I can with the performances and the results. I'm not looking at this game thinking if I win it I get the job or if I lose it I don't get the job. I'm not, but other people are. That body of opinion might sway things one way or the other. But I don't see it that way. I think it would be grossly unfair if I was being judged on just this one game."

Grossly unfair or not, some will view tonight's outcome in isolation to those other victories gained under Lennon. Lennon also rejected the theory the majority of the fans have settled on his suitability for the job on a permanent basis. Similarly, he is unconvinced by reports Celtic have already decided on an established, big-name appointment – perhaps of the Koeman variety.

"This is just speculation from outside the club," said Lennon. "It's certainly not what I have been told. All I can do is win as many games as we can and put over as strong a case as possible for the job for next season. I have no idea what the punters are thinking about the whole thing, I really don't. But they won't sway Dermot one way or the other. I don't know if he's already made his mind up – if he has he certainly hasn't intimated that to me. I don't think a groundswell of popularity would faze him one way or the other.

"I am proving to myself that I can do the job and that side of things is important to me. But I also know you're only ever 90 minutes away from everything going belly up again. I'm always wary there is a Ross County around the corner. But the boys have shown really good levels of consistency in performances and results which has been very, very pleasing.

"Winning six on the spin is probably better than even I expected. But then I expected to win the semi-final (against Ross County], so there is always a flip side," he added.

Whatever Lennon's own future is, it has to be assumed that a significant number of the Celtic players who feature tonight will be making their last appearance in an Old Firm fixture. The interim manager has challenged those leaving to "go out on their shield" against Walter Smith's side.

"We've not won the last three, so it's important we try to put that right," Lennon said. "We have to salvage something from the season for the supporters and give them some optimism for next season. I remember my last Old Firm game as a player. We had already won the league but we lost the game 3-0 and you could see what it meant to Walter and the staff and the supporters that day. There are no meaningless Old Firm games."