Jonny Hayes discloses how Celtic players would feel if Neil Lennon was appointed permanently

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Lennon is currently managing the Scottish Premiership leaders on a caretaker basis.

Celtic midfielder Jonny Hayes has piled the praise on interim manager Neil Lennon, saying he has never seen a coach love a club as much as he loves the Hoops.

In comments which the Parkhead board should take heed of, the 31-year-old spoke of how the Northern Irishman is proving an inspiration to all the players, including those from overseas who have not been at the club too long.

Lennon, who played at Celtic between 2000-2007 and managed the Bhoys on a permanent basis between 2010-2014, has return to Parkhead on an interim basis after Brendan Rodgers left the club for the Premier League earlier this year.

The 47-year-old is unbeaten in eight games and guided Celtic to the final of the Scottish Cup with a 3-0 win over Aberdeen at the weekend, which keeps the Hoops on course for an unprecedented domestic treble treble.

“I have never seen a manager love a club as much as the gaffer loves Celtic,” he is quoted by the Evening Express as saying. “The manager has been superb since has come in. A lot of the boys have taken confidence from him. He inspires players and seems to get the best out of players.

“I have seen it already in the dressing room. Some of the foreign lads who have been here short term, they can see how passionate the manager is about the job and how much he wants us to win every game and you can definitely see it rubbing off.”

Although Hayes did not explicitly urge the club to appoint Lennon permanently, he did provide a ringing endorsement by saying: “I don’t make those decisions but certainly the players wouldn’t be against it if he got the job, I know that. But that’s up to the board to make those decisions.”

Celtic’s first post-split Scottish Premiership game is on Sunday 21 April away at Hibernian, while their last league encounter is at home against Hearts on Sunday 19 May, and the latter side will also be the Hoops’ Scottish Cup final opponent six days later.

Hayes has struggled for game time this season, making just five Premiership starts, while his total appearance tally in all competitions this term stands at 17, according to Transfermarkt.