 Neil Lennon has not turned his mind to any contingency plan should his appeal against a six-game touchline ban fail. The Celtic manager made his last scheduled appearance in the dugout in the 3-0 win over Hibs on Saturday. Lennon did not appear to have reigned himself in while in the visiting technical area at Easter Road, despite the presence of two officials who have dropped off his Christmas card list in recent months - referee Craig Thomson and fourth official Willie Collum. Lennon had no complaints with officials as Anthony Stokes scored twice, his first from the penalty spot, after the returning Gary Hooper opened the scoring one minute before half-time. But he is yet to discuss with his assistants Johan Mjallby and Alan Thompson what will happen if he is banished to the stand. Lennon is appealing the touchline ban imposed after he was sent to the stand by Thomson during a defeat by Hearts in November. The imminent ban did not prevent Lennon from branding the performance of referee Collum as "not good enough" in the 1-1 draw at Hamilton on Wednesday night. Lennon's comments may be the subject of discussion at the SFA's general purposes committee meeting today and it is possible he could face further censure. As for the appeal, Lennon is unaware of its progress. He said: "I haven't a clue (on progress). It's in the process and in the hands in the legal team - I'll probably know more early next week." A 15th win from 21 games this season means Celtic are five points clear of Rangers, who could cut that back if they win tomorrow against Inverness. Stokes is satisfied with Celtic's form. He said: "We've been hard to beat - that's the main thing. We haven't lost a game in a while. We look solid and going forward we look a threat. Hopefully we can keep that up and keep getting results." |