Neil Lennon is adamant his Celtic future doesn’t hinge on dumping Rangers.
The interim Parkhead boss is preparing for a first Old Firm clash of his second spell at the club on Sunday lunchtime.
Lennon is currently in temporary charge having been named as interim manager a month ago following the departure of Brendan Rodgers.
Victory over the Ibrox side will open a 13-point gap at the summit of the Ladbrokes Premiership for his team and skipper Scott Brown believes an emphatic triumph could also land his gaffer the job on a long-term basis.
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Lennon, though, insists that won’t be the case and doesn’t believe the remaining two derbies of the campaign will make or break his job prospects.
He knows eyes are on him as he said: “Of course I’ll be judged, yeah.
“These are the games that matter and the ones everyone talks about. These are the ones that people remember.”
But asked directly if the outcome would carry additional weight in terms of his future, Lennon added: “I’m not convinced.
“I don’t think my future is based on the result of one game or two games against Rangers.
“It’ll be whole package over the three months I’ll have been in charge.
“There is a lot of speculation surrounding that, but that’s all it is. Speculation and conjecture and I’ve obviously taken no notice of it.”
Lennon can’t wait for the showdown, but has revealed Kieran Tierney may miss out.
The Parkhead full-back broke down in training yesterday morning and the manager has confessed he’s got concerns over the well-being of the Scotland star.
Tierney missed the international double-header against Kazakhstan and San Marino, but began training again with his club this week and appeared all-set for the encounter against the Light Blues.
However, problems flared up again during Friday morning’s session and he’s now a big doubt.
Lennon said: “Tierney had a bit of a reaction. He looked a bit uncomfortable and we will have to wait and see how he is.
“He probably needs a rest. We’ll try and get him over the line as quickly as possible and shut him down for a while.
“I’m not ruling him out, but it didn’t look great. We’ll see. It’ll be judged by the medical team as well.”
Lennon also faces worries over Filip Benkovic’s foot injury, but James Forrest, Tom Rogic, Oliver Ntcham and Jozo Simonivic are all set to return as Celtic look to press home their title advantage.
The champions have a 10-point lead in the flag fight going into the showdown and the manager believes the gap at the summit is a crucial edge heading into the crunch.
Victory will virtually move the Hoops out of sight of the rest with just seven games remaining and Lennon said: “The cushion helps. There’s not question of that.
“We know if we win it’s a huge gap. If we lose, it’s still comfortable, but we’re not trying to think of that eventuality, obviously.
“The motivation is to win and win well and take it from there as quickly as a we can.”
