Looking to life without Gers
Lennon also urged fans to rally behind the club as he admitted there would be a financial impact from the absence of the Ibrox club from the SPL, although his budget is not immediately affected.
Celtic were among 10 clubs who voted against the Ibrox newco’s application to join the SPL, which now faces a definite financial shortfall and huge uncertainty should Rangers be relaunched in the Third Division.
Celtic have consistently insisted they do not need Rangers to flourish and although there will be some commercial impact, it was the disappearance of the competition that appeared to be hitting home to Lennon yesterday.
“There’s that competitiveness, that rivalry, you are obviously going to miss the games,” said Lennon.
“It’s a great selling point for Scottish football but they are not here and there’s nothing I can do about that.
“From a personal point of view, I won’t have to go through the stress and the worry and the build-up for a week and the aftermath.
“But that’s just me being selfish, I don’t think there are too many benefits without the Old Firm.”
Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell has dismissed suggestions they need Rangers but Lennon expects some impact.
“Financially and commercially it will bite us a bit but the club has its own financial structure and strategy in place and we’ll move ahead regardless,” Lennon said.
“Our budget is unchanged. We always try and maintain a level ground on the spending going out and the money that we bring in.
“That hasn’t changed and that was the plan going into the season anyway, regardless of the outcome of Wednesday.
“What I will say is we need our supporters to back the team now more than ever, to come and support us and invest in the club because we are going to be hit financially by the loss of Rangers in the SPL.”
Lennon did not want to comment on newco Rangers’ immediate destiny, which is in the hands of the Scottish Football League.
“The SFL have a difficult decision to make and I have sympathy for those clubs who have to get involved in this,” he said.
“There are pros and cons, we are talking about the sporting integrity of the game and the commercial value.
“There has to be a balance between the principle of the game and pragmatism.”
Celtic were 1/50 to retain the SPL title with one bookmaker immediately after newco Rangers lost their application to join the league, but Lennon was keen to stress his team still need to earn the title.
And he even claimed they were now under more pressure to do so.
Lennon, helping to launch Celtic’s 2011-12 season review DVD, entitled This Is Just The Beginning, said: “I don’t know what sort of ripple effect it will be. It may make the league more competitive, I don’t know. It may prick the ears of Hearts fans, Dundee United fans, Aberdeen fans. We may see a renaissance in some of those clubs.
“There are teams that have beaten us last year. I expect some of the clubs to improve.
“I know the gap is big but the challenge is out there for other clubs to close the gap, and everyone is talking about this league being a foregone conclusion but we don’t see it that way.
“There is probably extra pressure on us now. People might not see it that way. People would say: ‘With Rangers out the way it should be comfortable for you’.
“But it never is and we’ll approach the season as we have approached every other season in the past.
“Everyone is talking like we have won it already but it doesn’t work that way.’’
Meanwhile, Lennon admitted removing close friend and former team-mate Alan Thompson from his backroom staff had been “very, very tough”.
The former Celtic captain, who is still considering a replacement, said: “It was my decision, a footballing decision. We wish Thommo well in whatever he does in the future.
“We want to take the backroom staff in a different direction and unfortunately Alan wasn’t part of that.”
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