NEIL Lennon will sign an improved deal in the next 48 hours to extend his tenure as Celtic manager, writes Stewart Fisher.
Parkhead Chief executive Peter Lawwell has been holding talks to reward the Northern Irishman for a season which saw him lead the club to a domestic double and into the last 16 of the Champions League.
The manager said the process should be concluded in the next few days, with a restructured arrangement agreed which will improve upon his reported £800,000-a-year salary, but is still thought thought to include a one-year rolling notice period.
"I am hoping to get it finished off before Wednesday," Lennon said. "It's just restructuring a little differently, so everything is working out okay on that aspect. It's not been a major issue for me because things haven't changed that much. I'm pretty secure with that."
The news comes as a boost ahead of Wednesday night's second leg Champions League qualifier at the Boras Arena against an Elfsborg side who went down 2-1 yesterday to domestic rivals AIK in Stockholm, but Lennon is left sweating over the involvement of a couple of key players for the tie.
Derk Boerritger limped off with an ankle injury on his full debut yesterday, while Kelvin Wilson, who has been suffering from shin splints, and Georgios Samaras, who has a badly bruised toe, should be fit.
"Derk jarred it and we have a sweat on for Wednesday to see how he is," said Lennon. "We thought Sami might have had a fracture on his toe, but the scan came up that he didn't. Kelvin gets shin splints this time of year, but he should be OK."
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