Neil Lennon may have an impressive league run-in record to look back on but that cuts no ice with the Irishman. He managed to cut into the lead built up by Rangers to six points with Sunday's last-day win at Hearts but he knows it was not good enough. Lennon chipped away at the lead, helped by their first win of the season over Rangers at Parkhead last week, but still ended up in the position he does not like to be in. At Tynecastle, Robbie Keane's 16th goal since arriving on loan from Spurs in January and Zheng Zhi's first since he signed as a free agent last August, extended the Hoops' winning run in the SPL to eight games. Despite the lack of silverware, including missing out on the chance to play in Saturdays' Scottish Cup Final, 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. However, the points differential means little to him as his side were still left wanting.
He said: "I wouldn't lay too much on that. 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. Even in the final game, the players did it for me, although at half-time I had a bit of a go at them. I didn't think they were as good as they should have been on the ball. They were also allowing too many crosses to come into our box. In the second half they were superb and saw out the game very well for the win."
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."
Neil Lennon may have an impressive league run-in record to look back on but that cuts no ice with the Irishman. He managed to cut into the lead built up by Rangers to six points with Sunday's last-day win at Hearts but he knows it was not good enough. Lennon chipped away at the lead, helped by their first win of the season over Rangers at Parkhead last week, but still ended up in the position he does not like to be in. At Tynecastle, Robbie Keane's 16th goal since arriving on loan from Spurs in January and Zheng Zhi's first since he signed as a free agent last August, extended the Hoops' winning run in the SPL to eight games. Despite the lack of silverware, including missing out on the chance to play in Saturdays' Scottish Cup Final, 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. However, the points differential means little to him as his side were still left wanting.