Hoops boss praises squad

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has praised the efforts of his players upon receiving the SPL Manager of the Year Award.

Lennon reflects on dramatic season

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has praised the efforts of his players upon receiving the SPL Manager of the Year Award. Lennon scooped the gong in Glasgow on Tuesday evening in recognition of his side's dramatic title win, which saw them embark on a 17 game unbeaten run to claw back a 15 point deficit on Rangers. Lennon's honour made it a hat-trick of awards for Celtic after Charlie Mulgrew and James Forrest picked up the Player and Young Player of the Year Awards respectively. The 40-year-old is quick to deflect the attention away from his role in the club's success this season, praising the players instead for their efforts in clawing back Rangers' lead at the top. "It's wonderful [to receive the award]. It's a nice bonus on the back of what has been a great season for us," he told Radio Clyde. "But every manager will tell you that you're only as good as your players so a huge amount of credit must go to them.

Great recognition

"It's great recognition for the team and it's been a real team effort this year. Charlie and James are exceptional players." Lennon also revealed he always believed they would turn things around, despite a difficult start that allowed Rangers to open up that huge lead at the summit. He added: "It just shows you far we have come in a short space of time but we had faith in the team. They weren't doing themselves justice at the time but we didn't panic. "We had a good look at things and decided on the back of last season, when we had 92 points and got to two cup finals, that there shouldn't be a lot wrong with the team. "So we just had to work away with them and they came good for us at the end. We went on an unbelievable run, which we felt they were capable of doing. "I'm very comfortable because they have won a title now and that will give them a huge shot in the arm. "In the last two seasons they have shown remarkable consistency in the league and in the cup competitions, to be fair. "The Champions League is different and we will look to add a couple of bits of quality here and there if we can. But the nucleus of the squad is very, very good."