 Neil Lennon will take his place in the home dugout today knowing he has to make an impression right from the off if he is to really stake his claim on the permanent job of manager. Neil has taken over until the end of the season following Thursday's sacking of Tony Mowbray in the wake of Wednesday's humiliating 4-0 defeat at St Mirren. Lennon said: "Yes I do want the job for keeps, everyone knows what this club means to me. It is a wonderful opportunity for me. Obviously I cam coming in in difficult circumstances but I have a job to do between now and the end of the season.'' There is competition for the top job with names such as Paul Lambert, Mark Hughes, Slaven Bilic and Roy Keane being linked with the job. However the first challenge he faces is beating Killie who also have a new manager in charge but one with more experience in Jimmy Calderwood. Lennon said: "It will be very difficult to do that (prove my credentials for the job) in such a short space of time, like all managers you look for your first result straight away. I have got to win as many games as I can and get as close to Rangers as we possibly can in the league and try to win the cup. You just take the job and see where it takes you, even if things go well it may not be offered to me.'' Mowbray was heavily criticised by fans for his insistence on looking to promote an attractive brand of attacking football, and Lennon plans to make the side play his way. He said: "I would like us to be more direct and press teams more and get the crowd going. Speed up the tempo of the game. Up until the St Mirren game things were going okay, but the players understand the performance was unacceptable. I have made it clear what is expected of them between now and the end of the season. They have trained well and we are looking forward to Saturday's game and putting things right.'' Scott Brown returns from suspension for and defender Jos Hooiveld has recovered from a hamstring injury but is unwell and will be monitored. Glenn Loovens (hamstring), Shaun Maloney (tendinitis), Niall McGinn (thigh) and Thomas Rogne (also hamstring) will all miss the game. |