NEIL LENNON last night moved to end any talk of a rift with Ronny Deila, his successor as Celtic manager, and expressed the view that the Norwegian's job will be made all the easier once Rangers reach the SPFL Premiership.

Deila created headlines last month when he banned chips and fizzy drinks from Celtic's training ground at Lennoxtown and stated that the squad of players he inherited had to become comfortable with the idea of being a "24-hour athlete". It was viewed by some as a criticism of Lennon's regime, and the Northern Irishman said it was "dis­respectful" to take over at a club and be disparaging about existing levels of fitness.

However, as he took the manager's job at Bolton Wanderers, Lennon buried the hatchet once and for all and insisted that Deila is perfectly suited to take the Glasgow club forward despite a difficult start which has brought a Champions League exit and has them sixth in the league table after eight games.

"I think Ronny just wants to implement his own ways in terms of diet," said Lennon. "I think everyone would know that the diet at Celtic was pretty good and Ronny is just trying to maybe eke out a little bit more. I don't think he was critical of my regime and certainly not critical of the players. He just wants to put his mark on the club; that is fine by me.

"Under Ronny, when he finds his feet and gets time to implement what he does, the club will be very successful. We have had great success and we are the dominant team in Scotland and I am pretty sure the club have picked the right man to take the club forward. I wish Ronny, the club and the players every success."

Lennon believes, though, that Celtic have suffered from a lack of competition following the financial collapse of Rangers in 2012. "I think it is important that Ran­gers come back and they have the Celtic v Rangers games again," said Lennon. "I think that edge and competitiveness has been missed for a couple of seasons. They need that stimulus week-in, week-out. All competitors need it."