SCOTT Brown kept himself in a general state of fitness over his summer holiday, although one of his constant exercises did not need much effort: constantly keeping his fingers crossed.

Throughout his break, the Celtic captain maintained the hope that he would not read, or receive a phone call or text, about manager Neil Lennon leaving the club.

Lennon has been linked with Everton, Wigan Athletic, Stoke City and Leicester City and there was the usual annual speculation that he might decide he had had enough of managing Celtic and fancy a new challenge in England. This turned out to be smoke without a fire, though, and Lennon is back to begin his fourth full season in charge.

"I was away on holiday, I didn't read that much and I just chilled," said Brown. "I was just hoping that he was here when I came back. It's good the gaffer and Johan [Mjallby] and 'Parks' [Garry Parker] are still here. We were struggling at one point and he [Lennon] has brought back the fighting spirit. He's put belief in myself and other players. I don't think there are many other players who were here at the start of his time so it's great he kept faith."

"I think he's due more recognition than he gets. Everyone thinks it's easy here and we should win the treble and have a good run in the Champions League. But we play 60 or 70 games a season and to be consistent is difficult. The gaffer gives us goals and makes us thrive under pressure rather than adding to it."

Only Brown and Georgios Samaras played in Lennon's opening game as caretaker manager – a 3-1 defeat of Kilmarnock in March 2010 – and are still at Celtic. Brown, now his captain, has been a close eye witness to Lennon's evolution. "I think he's calmed down a bit, and so have I. Wow, the two of us!

"He's still understanding how to be a top-class manager. I'm sure he'll get there and he's not far off it. He's bringing in more training drills on how to play football from the back, and for us to play as well as possible by putting teams under pressure. The fans want you to play attractive football and win. He's always had the winning mentality and it's natural for him to instil it in us."

Predictably Brown said it would be "a huge loss" if Victor Wanyama had indeed played his last game for Celtic – as Lennon suspects – but the captain himself is confident of making a more consistent contribution in the coming season than he could in an injury-troubled 2012-13 campaign. A groin problem has interrupted Brown's year and cost him to miss too many matches, including Scotland's surprising World Cup victory in Croatia, but he has had an encouraging rest over the summer and after his first day of training yesterday he intends to be ready for the Champions League second round qualifier against Cliftonville on July 17.

"Now and then, there were times in games last season when I knew I couldn't get there to make a tackle," he said. "Instead of taking a chance of maybe winning the ball, I knew to just sit back and wait for them to come towards me with the ball. But now I can hopefully go back to my good old ways of trying to get a good of the ball and see how I go.

"I knew I wasn't 100% fit for some games last season. I didn't have to play within myself, but I had to know how far I could push my body. Over the whole season I benefited from that because I managed to last longer in games. I played around 35 games, which isn't too bad after thinking in the first few games of the season that I was going to need an operation.

"Now I hope I can play right through this next season. But I'll see how it goes. My groin problems seem to have gone, so that's the main thing. It just needed a bit more rest."

* Brown was speaking at the launch of a new Celtic DVD, "125 Years in the Making – The Story of Celtic FC's Anniversary season", which is now available.