Lennon expects Celtic to raise bar

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has warned the rest of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League they have not seen the best of his side.

The Hoops will finally get to lift the SPL trophy on Sunday following their game against Hearts after clinching the title with six games to spare.

Defender Charlie Mulgrew and winger James Forrest have several player of the year awards but Lennon remains adamant that, despite the 20-point gap over their nearest rivals Rangers, there is still room for improvement.

Lennon told BBC ALBA's Club TV: "I'm very happy, very satisfying, we've made a lot of progress but there's more to come from the team.

"We set out to win the championship and we've done that with a bit to spare, full credit to the players for that. We went on an incredible run of 17 wins which was excellent consistency and it showed to me that they can go through the bad times and come out on the other side.

"People have questioned their character for whatever reason I don't know because they proved that over the season they've got that in abundance."

Lennon has already announced that Mark Wilson and Efrain Juarez will leave in the summer and has indicated another four will move on.

But Lennon hopes added quality rather than quantity can help Celtic progress further.

"The fact they've won the title will give them a spring in their step and renewed vigour and confidence going into next year," Lennon said.

"But it's important that we trim the squad. We have too many at the minute. I also want to keep the pathway clear for the younger ones coming through. There's two or three bubbling under quite nicely and we'd like to bring three or four quality players in."