Neil Lennon insists Parkhead chiefs have told him his hopes of becoming permanent manager of Celtic are NOT reliant on winning the Scottish Cup.
The Northern Irishman returned for a second spell in charge in February after Brendan Rodgers' sudden departure for Leicester.
Lennon - who began the run to the current eight in a row titles during his first stint - remains in interim charge ahead of the Hampden showdown with Hearts on Saturday.
But he is no further forward in knowing if he will still be in the hotseat next season. Rafa Benitez and David Moyes are among the other names being linked with the job.
And even if he wins the Scottish Cup and completes the treble Treble, Lennon will not know if he has done enough to land the job.
Many believe his hopes are dependant on completing the domestic clean sweep but asked if that was the case, Lennon told BBC Sportscene: "No I have been told that already. By the hierarchy and I have no reason not to believe them."
Lennon also his back at critics of his side's style and said he has changed little since taking over from Rodgers.
Making sweeping changes would have been a "huge mistake".
"It's not my side, it's Brendan's," he said. "People are saying, 'Well the performances aren't the same' - well they are.
"If I had gone in and changed things and it hadn't worked, I would've been making a huge mistake. It was important to get the players over the line, win the league.
"The training, everything, we kept the same. You've got to put the players first. It's an important piece of the club's history that they could achieve here.
"Going forward, the style of play I think can be a little bit different. Teams are starting to work out the way we play. We need to be more flexible in our style."
Lennon was clear that he wants to remain in football management even if he is not to continue with Celtic beyond the summer.
The former Hibs boss said: "I've really enjoyed the last three years being back in Scotland. I've had some great success both at Hibs and Celtic.
I've enjoyed it immensely and it's been really good for me, so if it's not to be Celtic then I'm hoping for a new challenge somewhere else.
"I would love it (to stay on at Celtic) It's a privileged position, I've done it before."
