NEIL LENNON will sit down with Peter Lawwell and Dermot Desmond in an attempt to persuade them to keep players at the club.

The Celtic manager confirmed he will meet the club's chief executive and majority shareholder "over the next week or so" and he has a wish list. "There are players I'd dearly love to keep and I'll be making that clear," he said.

Gary Hooper, scorer of two goals in the William Hill Scottish Cup final, tops that list. "He's a master player, a master goalscorer," he said of the 25-year-old, who attracted bids from Norwich City in January. Both Victor Wanyama and Fraser Forster will also have suitors but Lennon said of Hooper: "He would be one I would be desperate to keep."

Lennon, himself, has a rolling contract but wants to change that to a longer-term deal. He would not comment on those talks specifically but the discussions with Lawwell and Desmond will be wide-ranging. "I'm hoping we can talk about what we're going to do because we haven't had that conversation yet in terms of bringing players in, targets and what the budget is going to be," he said.

Lennon has been linked with a move to the Barclays Premier League but said: "There's nothing in it. It's all speculation, no approaches, nothing like that at all."

He conceded that his squad would change after a season in which Celtic achieved a domestic double and reached the last 16 of the Champions League. "There will be a few leaving; we'll talk to the players this week," he said of those, likely including Paddy McCourt, surplus to requirements. Defender Thomas Rogne will leave after refusing a new contract.

Lennon added: "And then I'm sure we'll get offers for a player or two. You can't do anything about that. It depends on the offer if it's right for us, if it gives us something we can build on, if you can replace the player."

He was emphatic in his praise of Hooper. "Look at his record in all the big games," said Lennon. "He's just a natural, intelligent footballer. If he does go, he's going to be really hard to replace, but I will do everything I can to keep him."

He rebutted claims Hooper's form had suffered since January. "He does have dips, like every player does, but it seems when Gary has a dip, everyone accuses him of wanting away. It's rubbish, absolute rubbish," he said. 'He's probably one of the first names of my team sheet because of what he brings to the team. Not just goals, but his link-up play, his touch, his awareness. I've not had a problem with his attitude or his agent or anything. "

Lennon indicated that decisions will be taken before the qualification process for the Champions League begins in mid-July. He said of players who may want to leave: "If they're making inroads to go, then I think that's difficult for us. Are they going to be focused or are they going to be looking elsewhere at other clubs? That's something we need to address pretty quickly."